


A Witch with a Dark Side

by lassithedawg



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Creepy!Luz, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Takes place after season 1, and maybe some therapy, but emperor belos won't let them, felt it needed done, poor kids need a break, we need more creepy!luz fanfics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 53,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26520652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lassithedawg/pseuds/lassithedawg
Summary: Emperor Belos was quite intrigued when the human came to him. Especially once he saw the resemblance to a certain witch that works for him...Luz, though determined to find a new way home, finds herself with much more urgent, and alarming, issue when a creepy witch version of herself appears. Being taken and replaced, she can only hope that her friends can realize the imposter among them before it's too late.An AU based around the theory that the masked owl character is the "creepy Luz" mentioned by the VAs. I don't believe that it is creepy Luz behind the mask, but I think it would be a fun idea to create. This takes place after season 1.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney
Comments: 431
Kudos: 459





	1. Worry Not, Kiki

**Author's Note:**

> I was highly inspired to make this after hearing about creepy!Luz, especially after this youtube video: https://youtu.be/7yMcJ9Wb-8A
> 
> Comment and leave kudos if you like this. If you do like it, I will keep writing it!   
> Enjoy my first ever fanfiction!

**BELOS POV**

Belos watched sparks flying as two pieces of his portal machine were welded together. The human may have shattered the door, but he would not be deterred that easily. He was sure, with the proper materials and some magic, he could make the portal open once again.

However, his mind went back to the owl lady and her ward. It was picking his nerves that they managed to get away, but what really had his thoughts buzzing was the human. The human, albeit missing certain witch features, looked like-

“Belos! _My man!_ ” a loud female voice shouted from a little ways away. “You called?”

His eyes narrowed, trying to keep the irritation down at the sound of his guest’s voice.

“It’s Emperor Belos to you. And yes,” he spoke calmly, still watching the construction. “I have a new mission for you to attend to.”

“Does it have to do with the Owl Lady?” the girl asked, approaching him. “I saw the whole thing. Like how Lilith and a super cute demon were thrown in. I was like, ‘ _WHAAA-_ Plot twist!’ Then someone appeared and broke them out! I mean, that was so-“

Belos snapped his head towards her, eyes glowing dangerously. The person in white, though her face was hidden behind the owl mask, clearly grew nervous. She grew stiff and patted her legs in a nervous tick.

“Ah… _stupid!_ That person was so… stupid. With their stupid cape, and their cute owl staff- I mean _stupid_ owl staff!”

Belos narrowed his eyes at her, and she finally got the hint, growing silent.

“As I was saying,” Belos spoke forcefully, “I have a mission for you. And yes, it does have to do with the Owl Lady.”

“ _Really!?_ ” the girl asked, nearly jumping in her spot. “This is so cool! So what do you want me to do? Kill her? Oh! Maybe if I kill her and the others, I can have that super cute palisman for myself! It would go perfect with my mask, don’t you think?”

She grabbed her mask, and twisted it playfully, giving a little “hoot hoot” for effect. Belos refrained himself from lashing out at her annoying behavior, reminding himself that he needed her if his plan was to work.

“I don’t care about the palisman,” he waved his hand dismissively. “If you manage to pull this off, you may keep the staff. I have no use for it.”

The girl pumped her fist in excitement.

“However, this mission is going to be a bit different than those you have had in the past,” he explained. “You see, the person that helped them escape was a human.”

“A human? How did one of those things get here?”

“A portal that the Owl Lady once possessed gave the human access to our world. A portal that I now have,” he explained, motioning to the construction. “This means the human is now stuck in our realm. I think this may provide us with a most opportune advantage to recapturing the Owl Lady and any wild witches that support her.”

“How so?” the girl asked, cocking her head.

“Because,” he slid her mask up, “she is you, Luz.”

He stared down at the confused girl. It was most uncanny how similar she looked to the human he had just fought earlier that night. If not for her pointed ears, fangs, and deep crimson eyes, she would look just like the human.

“I don’t get it,” Luz admitted sheepishly. “How is she me?”

“I don’t know for certain, but I have a theory. I believe that there are different versions of us, _human_ versions, within the world beyond the portal. It just so happens that _your_ human version was the one to stumble upon our superior realm, and has since started making herself at home.”

“So, how is all this going to help?” Luz asked.

“I want you to use this coincidence to our advantage,” Belos explained, slipping his hands behind his back. “Unlike most humans, this one has learned a way to harness our world’s magic through drawing glyphs of sorts. However, I'm sure they can’t measure up to your natural magic. I need you to get her separated from the others, capture her, then take her place within the Owl House.” He reached forward and slid her mask over her face, “Pretending to be her, living with the Owl Lady, you will have access to gaining knowledge on her strengths, her weaknesses, and her fellow rebellious allies. You can then use that to capture them and bring them to me.”

“So cool!” Luz’s fists shook up and down before abruptly pausing. “Wait, if I am to replace her- I mean me- I mean the _human_ me… oh gosh, this is kinda confusing, isn’t it…”

“Get to the point,” he huffed irritably.

“If I am replacing the human, then why am I just capturing her? Why not just kill her?” she asked. “I’d be glad to do it! I’ve done it before! Well, I haven’t killed me before… or rather my human me… I mean-“

“You will _not_ kill the human, because you need her to be able to become her,” Belos growled, cut her rambling short. “You will already have to use an illusion spell to make parts of yourself match her human features, but that can only go so far. You need to be able to slip into her current life seamlessly. That is, unless you wish to feel what the Owl Lady’s talons tearing you limb from limb feels like.”

“Ah... yeah, no,” she nervously chuckled taking a few steps back into the doorway. “I- I’m good.”

“Then it is your job to keep her alive to extract any info you may need. Find out her routine and fall in it. If something comes up that you don’t know, use the human to figure it out. Because, _if you fail_ this mission, and if you fail _me_ , you are as good as dead. If not by those wild witches, then by my own hands. Do you understand, Luz?”

He noticed her form shiver slightly at his words, giving a slight nod.

“Sire!” Kiki’s voice cried out as she descended from the stairs, breaking the tension. “Those miscreants are still at large! Please, allow me to capture them and-“

“Worry not, Kiki,” Belos turned around to face her, causing her to freeze. “We will be keeping an eye on the inhabitants of the Owl House.”

Belos turned to Luz, giving a nod to dismiss her. Luz nodded stiffly back before swiftly leaving.

“In the mean time, the day of unity is almost upon us, and we have much work to do,” he explained, turning once again to observe the construction.


	2. Catching Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another short chapter. Linking the end of Luz's day in the episode with what comes next.
> 
> Next chapter will be longer and from Amity's POV! Enjoy!

**LUZ POV:**

“And that’s how we escaped from the emperor. Everyone told me he was the most powerful witch alive, but look at this Mom!” Luz grabbed her souvenir from the fight and held it up to her phone’s camera, “I chipped off a piece of his mask! I know he’s not invincible now.”

Luz felt her smile falter as she looked down to the floor. She gripped her phone a little tighter, imagining what her mother would say about her adventure. Her mother was always very protective of her, claiming Luz as her world and that she couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to her. If she was around now, she would likely have chewed Luz out for her recklessness, but would have then hugged her, simply glad she was safe. She really wished she could feel her mom’s hug at that moment.

“It’s a strange feeling, having gone through so much and not having you here to share it with,” Luz finally admitted. “And I don’t know when or how I’m going to see you again…”

_… or IF I’ll see you again…_

She felt her chest grow tight at the thought, and she lowered her phone. She grabbed the frame beside her, staring at the photo of her and her mother. The picture both hurt and comforted her, seeing her mother’s smile, and wondering if she’d ever see it in person again.

Looking up, she stared out at the stars. Stars that were so similar, and at the same time, so different from the stars of Earth, which now sat a whole dimension away…  
She forced herself to push those negative thoughts down. Of course there would be another way to Earth, even if no one else knew of it yet. Before she got there, the magic of this world was thought to only be harnessed by the magic bile sack witches were born with. And yet, she found another way, one undiscovered until she managed to unlocked the secret. And she could do that again, but with the portal. She would find a new, possibly undiscovered way back home, just like she did with magic.

“But,” she confirmed aloud, “I will find my way home to you. I promise.”

She placed the frame down and picked her phone back up, smiling at the camera.

“Deja una luz puesta para mí. Te quiero.”

With that, she ended the recording. She popped her light spell, allowing the room to grow dark. Placing her frame back up and her phone beside it, she snuggled into her sleeping bag. She closed her eyes, allowing the sound of King’s steady breathing to lull her towards sleep.

*~*

“LUUUUZ!”

Luz screamed at the voice and shot upright, only to slam her head against something above her, causing her to fall right back down. King let out a yelp as he lept from his spot by her feet.

“OW! Geez! What was that for, hoot hoot?” the house demon huffed as he wobbled around above her.

“Don’t do that, Hooty!” Luz gasped, gripping her chest. “You scared me half to death!”

“How dare you wake the king of demons!” King shouted, throwing one of luz’s shirts at the owl.

Hooty seemed undeterred as the shirt half covered his face, “Well, since you are awake, wanna talk about the weather? It’s suuuuuper clear out, but a few minutes ago I saw a cloud and it was really fluffy! But it’s gone now and so then-“

“ _Hooty,_ ” Luz moaned as she sunk deeper into her sleeping bag. “It’s still night time. Don’t tell me you woke me up just for this…”

“Oh, not this time, hoot hoot!” Hoot perked up, doing twists that caused the shirt to fall off. “Our school friends have arrived to say hi!”

“ _My_ school friends, Hooty,” Luz mumbled. “You don’t go to-“

Suddenly, his words registered and she shot up, “Wait, my friends are here? Why didn’t you just say so? Tell them I’ll be down in a sec!”

“OKAY!” Hooty screamed as he retreated back out the window.

Luz quickly snatched up King, ignoring his demands for sleep, and raced down the stairs. She purposefully slid on the floor in her socks, ending just at the door. King scrambled up to her shoulders in a huff just as she swung the door open. Just outside stood Willow, Gus, Amity, and the twins.

“Hey guys!” she welcomed. “What are-“

“Luz!” Gus cried, tears in his eyes as he nearly tackled her to the floor in a hug.

Willow mimicked the hug, making Luz start to lose her footing. She noticed the twins look at each other, shrug, and dramatically throw themselves in as well, finally causing Luz and the pile to crash to the floor. King let out a panicked squeal and scrambled away from the pile.

“We thought- and we saw- then you-,” Gus stammered over his half formed sentences as he began to cry. “We were so worried!”

“Aw, shucks guys,” Luz grinned at her friends, guilt tugging at her heart. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you all!”

“I’d tell you not to do something like that again,” Willow spoke, wiping away a single stray tear, “but I think we all know that you probably will.”

“Oh, she definitely will!” Emira agreed.

“She is just cool like that!” Edric nodded, helping him and his sister up.

“Obviously she is cool!” King snapped. “Any minion of mine has to be cool. But can we stop with all this mushy stuff and go to bed? Even demons need their beauty sleep, and you all disrupted mine!”

“Sorry, King,” Willow smiled, helping the rest of the pile up.

Amity stepped forward with her crutches, obvious concern sketched across her face, “Willow and Gus told me they were there when it all went down, but I was stuck at home during the whole thing. I think we were all surprised to see you suddenly appear and free everyone. What all happened out there?”

“Yeah, cutie,” Emira leaned on her crippled siblings shoulder. “You have to give us the juicy details.”

“It’s only fair after making us worry so much!” Edric mimicked his sisters actions, causing Amity to tense up, slightly wobbling on her crutches.

“Oh my gosh, there is so much to tell!” Luz exclaimed, nearly bouncing in place. “Come on! We can go to my room and I will tell you everything!”


	3. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the delay! Chaos happened this week on my end. I'm planning to try and keep updating at least once a week as long as there is still interest from y'all. 
> 
> Anyway, a bit longer chapter than the last two chapters. Hope you like it!

**AMITY POV:**

Amity held the mug of warm apple blood in her hands, staring at Luz as the human excitedly reenacted her adventure. Gus seemed completely starstruck as he watched Luz performed, _“ooh”_ -ing and _“ahh”_ -ing at the heroic story. Willow smiled gently, obviously a bit concerned or overwhelmed, but supportive as always. The twins were grinning as they listened, piping in every now and then to crack a joke. King was sitting on the window sill, adding his parts of the adventure from time to time, no longer seeming upset over his sleep being disturbed. Everyone seemed to be handling it all so well. However, the more Amity listen, the more her stomach twisted and churned. She felt ready to puke just listening to the story. 

Luz could have died.

The thought of Luz being hurt, let alone dying, made Amity feel like she was plummeting into a dark abyss. Luz was the only person that had brought any sort of light to her life in ages. If Luz was gone, all the light she brought with her would surely die along with her. All the smiles and hugs Luz gave her, all the support, all the kindness… it would all vanish. Lilith and Emperor Belos seemed more than okay with snuffing out that light without a second thought, and they almost did. And yet, here Luz was, leaping around the room with her signature optimism as if it was just a normal day.

“Then I said,” Luz twirled around dramatically, broom-staff in hand, “‘I may have lost, but so have you.’ I lifted Eda’s staff high, thrust it to the floor, and BOOM!” She made an explosion sound as she flung her hands out. “The glyphs that I had secretly stuck to the door exploded!” She made a few more exaggerated explosion noises before continuing, “You should have seen the look on the emperor’s face when he realized what had happened! He was all like, ‘Ah! Nooo! BETRAYAL!”

She slumped to the floor dramatically, hand on her forehead.

“And then that’s when she appeared and saved us!” King cried out, leaping to his feet. “And then we all hopped on Eda’s back and flew off into the sunset.”

“King, it was night time,” Gus corrected. “There was no sunset.”

“Hush, you!” King demanded, pointing at him. “Don’t critique my artistic licenses!”

“But how is Eda back to her normal self?” Willow asked.

“Well, Lilith did this one spell that made them share the curse,” Luz explained, sitting upright. “They both are unable to use their magic now, but Eda is no longer an owl demon.”

“They lost their magic?” Edric gasped, looking horrified.

He held his hands close to his chest, terrified from the thought. Emira pat his head dramatically, mocking him and his fear.

“Well, their natural magic, yeah,” Luz shrugged. “But they can use the glyphs like me. I’m going to be teaching them how to use glyphs! And so- Amity, you okay? You look sick!”

Amity tensed up as all eyes turned on her, “What? Oh, uh- yeah. Sorry. It’s just… it’s a lot to process.”

“Alright, Kiddos,” Eda appeared in the doorway. “I know it has been an exciting couple of days, but even this night owl has reached her limit. If you’re staying the night, it’s lights out. Got it?”

“Okay, Eda!” Luz grinned.

Eda nodded and left the doorway. The group went to work, scrounging up supplies for some makeshift beds. Amity had tried to stand to help, but the twins shoved her back down, claiming she wasn’t allowed to help with her foot as it was. The demand hurt, though she wouldn’t admit it. She hated having to sit and do nothing as everyone else was contributing. And it hurt that it was the same reason she wasn’t there for Luz during all the chaos. She wished she could have been there. She could have tried to stop Luz from rushing in without thinking of the consequences. Or she could have been there to get Lilith to leave Luz alone. She could have even attempted to go with Eda to save her. Hell, she would have fought the emperor alongside Luz if it meant keeping the human safe.

But instead she was completely out of the loop. She had no idea of the struggles Luz had been facing the past couple of days until they appeared on her crystal ball. And even then, she couldn’t do anything except lay in bed and watch helplessly. 

She hated it. She hated herself for it.

What a friend she turned out to be.

“Here, Amity!” 

Amity jumped in her spot as she snapped her head up. She blushed as she noticed a smiling Luz standing over her. She was holding a fluffy pillow towards Amity.

“Since you have that cast because of me, you can have my pillow!” she declared. “It’s only fair!”

“It’s fine, Luz,” Amity tried waving it off. “You don’t have to-“

“Nonsense!” Luz declared. “I will not take no for an answer!”

“Luz, wait-“

Before she could stop her, Luz had thrust the pillow into Amity’s arms. Amity blushed as Luz also began throwing a few covers under her injured foot. She noticed her siblings in the background making kissy faces at her. Willow even gave her a smug look. Amity’s blush grew and she swirled her finger. The twin’s hoods on their outfits lifted and then pulled itself over their heads. Willow chuckled as the twins struggled, making Amity feel a flicker of pride.

“There! What do you think?” Luz asked, beaming at her work.

Her support for her foot was pretty lacking, but she simply smiled and said, “It’s great. Thanks Luz.”

Somehow, Luz’s smile managed to grow even bigger at the compliment. She ran off to assist the others as Amity slipped the pillow behind her head. She felt a calm surround her as she realized the pillow smelled of Luz; like the woods, with a hint of something sweet (possibly from the apple blood they drank). She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the scent to envelop her. The rest of the group didn’t take long to get into their own versions of makeshift beds. After they all settled down, only a few minutes passed before they all drifted off to sleep. All except Amity, that is. Amity stared up at the ceiling in silence. Even in the warm room, surrounded by the peaceful sounds of sleeping friends, Amity couldn’t shut her brain down enough to sleep. Luz’s escapade continued to replay in her head over and over, along with all of Amity’s anxiety that came with it. She gave a small sigh, realizing it was going to be a sleepless night.

~*~

Time ticked by in an agonizingly slow pace. She had no idea what time it was when a noise finally disrupted the silence. Amity looked over as she noticed Luz’s form standing up and tiptoeing to the window. Amity’s eyes knit together in confusion as she watched her climb out quietly onto the rooftop. Amity grabbed a nearby crutch and quietly, but oh so awkwardly, make her way to the window as well. She looked out and noticed Luz simply sitting there, staring at some sort of picture frame. Amity felt a wave of concern as she noticed Luz’s normal smile was gone, replaced with a foreign depressed look. Something was wrong.

But this time, Amity was here to help her.

With a wave of determination, Amity placed her crutch down and tried to climb out the window. She winced and let out a low hiss as she knocked her bad foot on the window.

“Amity!” Luz gasped, making her way over to help. “What are you doing?”

Amity cursed herself for the less-than-smooth entrance as Luz was once again helping her and not the other way around.

“I was coming out to join you,” Amity explained as they got her all the way out and the windows mostly shut.

“Did I wake you up?” Luz panicked. “I’m sorry! I tried to be quiet.”

“You didn’t wake me up,” Amity assured her, sitting stiffly beside her friend. “I was still awake.”

“Oh, good,” Luz sighed, a small smile returning.

Amity looked down at Luz’s hands, which still gripped the frame, “What is that?”

Luz looked down at it for a moment, her smile fading again. She handed it over. Amity observed the photo, staring at an image of Luz giving a lady a hug. 

“That’s my mom,” Luz explained, her words sounding heavy. 

“I can see the resemblance,” Amity noted. “What’s she like?”

“Oh, she’s really great!” Luz brightened up. “She has always looked out for me. Her cooking is amazing, and she was teaching me how to cook as well. She also always buys me Azura books, despite the fact that she thinks they are ridiculous. One time, she even took me to a book release for the latest Azura book, even though she had just got off her shift at the hospital and was tired!”

Luz pulled out her human scroll and pulled up some photos. The first one she showed was of her mother holding a snake.

“This was when she took me to get my first pet snake! That’s her, and the snake’s name is Hecate! She didn’t like the idea of having a snake in the house, but she got me one for my birthday as a surprise. It was the best birthday present I ever got! She does stuff like this for me all the time.” 

“She sounds really great, Luz,” Amity smiled. 

“Yeah,” Luz agreed. She stared at the phone longingly, “She’s the best.”

“You okay?” Amity asked, her ears lowering in concern.

“Yeah,” Luz sighed. “I’m just worried about her. You know she doesn’t have any idea I’m here?”

“She doesn’t?” 

“No. You see, she was planning to send me off to this camp,” Luz explained, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “She knew I had a hard time fitting in at home. I hadn’t found any friends. My pet snakes were the closest thing I had to some. The few times I tried making friends with actual people, I guess I was just too hyper or too weird for them. So my mom was having me go to this camp that was supposed to help you learn how to fit in. I really didn’t want to go. So when I stumbled upon the Boiling Isles, I decided to stay here for the summer instead, and just _tell_ my mom I was at the camp.”

Amity watched some tears starting to form in the human’s eyes.

“I thought I would just go back home after summer ended and she would never have to know. But I burned the only portal home to stop Emperor Belos. Now I have to try and find a whole new way back home,” Luz explained, rubbing her eyes to catch the pooled tears. “But, to be honest, I’m really scared. What if there is no way back now? I may be stuck here forever. Which I would be fine with, except…”

Luz stopped as her voice hitched.

“Except,” Amity finished, “your mom is still at home and doesn’t know where you are. You are afraid you won’t get home and she will never know what happened to you.”

Luz nodded, tears swelling back up as she looked down. Her hands were balled up, clenching nothing but the air in her lap. She was scared. She wasn’t as fine as she let on earlier that night. Of course she wasn’t.

“Sorry,” Luz sniffed, wiping her eyes again before looking over to Amity. “I didn’t mean to be such a downer.”

“Luz, you don’t have to apologize,” Amity said, placing her hand comfortingly on Luz’s shoulder. “It’s alright to be scared, or sad, or upset. Especially after everything that just happened. You went through a lot of terrifying things the past few days, and you have no idea what is coming. That’s a lot to deal with. But you don’t have to deal with it alone. You have everyone here ready to support you, just like you have supported us. We will be here for you, and we will help you find a new portal. Okay?”

Luz sat stiffly in spot, attempting and failing to hold back her tears at Amity’s words. Amity thought for some other way to help, unsure what else to say. She thought back to what Luz would do to comfort everyone else. She smiled and held out her arms. Luz didn’t even hesitate, diving into Amity’s arms and holding her tight as she began to cry. Amity held her gently, running a hand through her hair in a soothing motion as she sat in silence, hoping it was enough.

They sat there like that for what felt like ages, but Amity didn’t mind. For Luz, she would sit there for days if need be. Even the forest seemed to be silent, as if respecting the moment Luz needed. After a while, Luz finally pulled away. 

She looked over at Amity with a shy smile, “Thanks, Amity… I guess I really needed that, huh? I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Amity’s face turned red as she let out a nervous chuckle, “Ah, oh gosh. It’s- it’s no problem. Really. I’m just glad you are feeling a bit better.”

“More than I can say for you,” Luz chuckled lightly pointing at the cast. “I still feel bad about-…” She shot upright out of nowhere, causing Amity to jump a bit as well, “Wait! I have an idea! Face me!”

“W-what?” Amity nearly choked on air. “Why?”

“Just trust me!” Luz grinned, her energy having returned.

Amity knew she probably looked as red as can be, but she did as she was told. Luz cupped Amity’s face, and Amity felt her eyes grow wide. What was happening? Was Luz making a move on her? She felt herself become a statue as Luz leaned in, and found a squeak escape as Luz’s forehead rested against her own. 

“Don’t move,” Luz instructed before closing her eyes. “I don’t want to mess this up.”

Amity felt her heart ready to burst from her chest as she gave a tiny nod.

Luz cleared her throat and said, “With the spell declared, let the pain be shared!”

Amity watched as blue sparks formed by their feet. Luz’s face contorted in pain for just a moment before opening her eyes and pulling back. Luz held her hands up, waving them side to side as she said, “Ta-da! Now your foot should feel a lot better!”

Amity looked down at her foot. Her eyes widened as she found most of the pain now gone. It just felt like a sprain now. 

“Wait, how did you…?”

“It was the spell Lilith used on Eda to split the curse! It makes it to where the person saying the spell takes half of the injury from the other person.”

“So you just willingly hurt yourself?” Amity frowned. “Luz, why would you do that?”

“It only hurts a little,” Luz held her hands up in defense, her face slightly red. “And now you should be able to take the cast off and walk again! Which means I’ll be able to see you at school! I would hate to go to abominations class and not have _the_ Amity Blight there to outdo me because of a stupid injury. I’d miss you too much!”

This human was going to be the death of her.

“ _R-right._ Well… thank you,” Amity stumbled out, clearing her throat for some control. “And… I would have missed you, too.”

“Awww, you going soft on me Blight?” Luz asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“In your dreams Noceda,” Amity chuckled, nudging Luz playfully. “How about we go back inside and get some actual sleep now?”

Luz gave a yawn, “Yeah, I’m pooped!”

“Pooped?” Amity panicked, remembering she had just been holding the human moments ago. “You have poop on you and you didn’t say anything!?”

“No! Nonono,” Luz shook her head aggressively. “It’s just another human saying! It means I’m super tired.”

“Oh,” Amity let out a sigh of relief. “Why do you call being tired ‘pooped,’ anyway?”

“I-… huh, I don’t know,” Luz shrugged. “Never thought about it before! It’s just the saying people use.”

Amity chuckled, shaking her head, “You are definitely weird.”

“I am,” Luz agreed. “You okay with that?”

Amity smiled, “Definitely.”

The gold flecks seemed to sparkle in Luz’s brown eyes at that. She leapt to her feet, wincing as she seemed to remember her newly injured foot. She then held a hand out to Amity.

“Then, after you, my lady!” she declared. “Let us be off!”

Amity felt a flicker in her heart as she slipped her hand into Luz’s, “Yeah. Let’s.”


	4. Pancake Paradise

**AMITY POV:**

Amity slowly came to as a gentle tickle formed on her nose. Groaning, she reached up to rub the itch away. A glob of wet foam greeted her face, causing her to jolt awake, trying to comprehend what was on her. A sudden flash of a scroll caused her to flinch. She blinked as she noticed Edric and Emira rushing out the door, bursting out in a laughing fit. 

“Breakfast is ready!” they called as they vanished.

Amity grabbed her pillow and chucked it at the door as she yelled. Making note to kill them later, she frantically tried to wipe off the foam. She flinched as some accidentally got in her mouth, expecting the bitter taste of ogre slobber. Instead, she tasted a sweet and airy flavor. It was delicious. She looked at the foam on her hand, wondering what it was. It looked slightly different from the foam of the slobber, seeming more fluffy and soft. She took a tentative bite out of it and felt herself perk up at the taste. Definitely not slobber, and definitely something delectable. She licked her fingers clean as she looked around the room, still trying to get her bearings. Her mind caught up as she looked around at the tiny room, abandoned by the rest of the party. 

Was she the last one awake? She felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her at the thought. She quickly ran a hand through her hair, trying to clear out some of the tangles as she stood up. She wobbled on her foot, flinching as she braced herself for the usual pain. When only a slight twinge of pain came about, she frowned in confusion. Memories of last night flooded back, and she felt herself slightly blush at Luz’s pain sharing spell. 

She forced herself to push the images aside as she wobbled down the stairs of the owl house and into the kitchen. She paused as she noticed everyone chatting amongst themselves at the table. Everyone except Luz, who was currently by the stove, making some sort of flat bread.

“Oh! Morning, Amity!” she waved from her spot. “I’m making pancakes for everyone!”

“Pancakes?” 

“Yeah! It’s a human breakfast food,” Luz explained. “It’s extra good with either syrup or whipped cream on top.”

“Did you like the whipped cream we gave you to try?” Emira grinned.

_So that’s what it was…_

“I’ll whip both of you if you attempt that again,” Amity glared at the twins before making her way over to the table.

“Your foot is looking a lot better, Amity,” Willow said, taking a bite of her pancake. 

“Oh, yeah!” Gus looked down at the cast. “You can walk without a crutch now! Does that mean you are going to be at school tomorrow?”

“Uh, maybe,” Amity shrugged, sitting down in a vacant seat. 

“How interesting,” Emira cocked a brow. “You know Luz just happened to be limping with a hurt foot this morning, and you now have a semi-working foot.”

“Yeah,” Edric leaned closer, his chin resting on his propped up hand. “That seems like a very interesting observation, don’t you agree Mittens?”

Amity felt heat rise to her face as she glared at the smug expressions of her siblings. 

“Here you go, Amity!” 

Luz broke the stare by placing a plate of pancakes in front of Amity. 

“Oh! Thanks, Luz.”

Luz then plopped herself in the chair beside her with her own plate, and the conversations among the others started back up. Amity watched as Luz placed her two pancakes side-by-side. She took the whipped cream, covering one pancake with it before drenching the other in the syrup. She noticed Amity watching her.

“I know usually you only do one or the other, but I like to do this so I get the best of both!” Luz explained with a goofy grin. “But you can just do one if you want.”

Amity felt her heart skip a beat at Luz’s smile. Without saying anything, Amity replicated Luz’s food habit with her own. She refused to look up at her siblings, who were surely going to mock her if she made eye contact with them. Amity took a bite of her pancake and felt her eyes widen at the taste.

“Wow, Luz! You made this?”

“Yeah!” Luz grinned, speaking past the food in her mouth. She swallowed the food and said, “I learned how to make it with my mom! Isn’t it great?”

Amity felt her heart break once again as Luz mentioned her mother, her mind returning to last night’s conversation. She forced herself to give a smile back and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s great.”

Luz returned to her food, seeming content with the response. 

“HOOOOT!” A shrill call broke the peace as Hooty appeared. “Luuuuuz! Guess what time it is!”

“Uh,” Luz frowned as she quickly swallowed her mouthful. “I don’t know. What time is it?”

“Iiiiit’s-“

The bird broke out into a hacking fit. Suddenly, a shower of slobber-covered letters and boxes dropped onto the table.

“-Mail time!” Hoot finished, gasping for air.

Amity felt herself grow sick at the display. She pushed her slightly drool-covered pancakes away from her, ready to kill the bird demon that ruined the breakfast Luz had made for her.

“Thanks, Hooty,” Luz quickly dismissed, placing a hand on Amity to hold her back. 

“You’re welcome!” Hooty said before vanishing.

“I’m sorry guys! I can make some more pancakes if you want,” Luz rubbed her neck.

“Nah, I’m full,” Gus waved it off.

“Yeah, thanks anyway!” Willow smiled sweetly.

“I bet Amity would _love_ another one of your pancakes,” Emira suggested.

“I’ll go make some more then!”

“Luz, it’s fine!” Amity frowned. “I’ll just get some breakfast on my way home.”

“Nonsense! It will just take me a second. Besides, I have to make some for King and Eda.”

“Yeah, where are those two?” Edric asked, leaning back in his chair. “I thought for sure King would be the first one sitting down for some food.”

“They went to run an errand,” a familiar voice spoke behind her.

Amity swung her head around as Lilith entered the room. Lilith noticed her gaze and observed her.

“Ah, Amity,” her former mentor said in her typical formal tone. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Is your injury almost healed?”

Amity’s face twisted into a scowl at Lilith. It took every fiber in her being not to leap up and start wailing on the witch in front of her. She didn’t care if Luz claimed she was now an ally to the owl house inhabitants. Amity couldn’t just forgive her. Not after nearly killing Luz for her own self interests. That fact alone was enough for Lilith to be dead in her eyes.

“Ah-,” Edric broke the uncomfortable silence, “Mittens is doing a lot better!”

“Yeah,” Emira grinned nervously. “And I’m sure she appreciates your concern. Right, Mittens?”

Amity felt her sister give a small kick on her unharmed leg, causing Amity’s anger to only grow.

“I don’t need her concern,” Amity snarled. 

Lilith’s eyes widened at Amity’s aggression. Even Amity was a bit surprised at her actions. She had never been one to speak against one of her superiors, let alone to blatantly disrespect them. Amity felt her chest tighten, waiting for Lilith to lash back at her for her disrespect.

However, she watched as Lilith’s face grew despondent, “Right. Well. I am glad you are feeling better. I’ll leave you guys to enjoy your meal in peace. I need to go gather some supplies now that I will be living here.”

“Wait!” Luz called out, racing over with a small plate with pancakes on it. “Take this for the road!”

“Right,” Lilith hesitated before taking the food. “Thank you.”

“Of course! Oh, and when you are in town, can you grab some more griffin eggs? I kinda used the last of them making these pancakes,” Luz explained. “Eda said she would bring some more on her way back home, but she usually forgets.”

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks!” Luz said before spinning back around to her task.

Amity noticed Lilith stare at the human a little longer, the older witch’s brows furrowing as she watched Luz. Amity glared, not liking the look Lilith was giving the human. Lilith didn’t seem to notice, however, as she simply shook her head and took her leave. 

As soon as the door to the house was heard closing, she noticed a collective sigh erupt from the group.

“Well, that was awkward,” Gus cringed.

“I agree,” Willow mumbled. “I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t know what to say to her.”

“Come on, guys!” Luz said as she placed a fresh plate in front of Amity. “I know that she was really bad for a while, but she did help us in the end.”

“I know! Really, I do,” Willow nodded. “But, it’s hard after what she did to you and Eda.”

Amity gripped the table at the thought.

“I’m surprised you are okay with what she did,” Emira agreed.

“It’s not that I’m okay with what she did,” Luz corrected. “I will never be okay with what she did to Eda. But she is Eda’s sister, and she is going to be living here, so I have to try getting past what she did. Plus, she really does seem to be trying to change. I mean, she did turn herself into a traitor and an outlaw just to help fix her mistake. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“No, they don’t,” Amity snapped. “Not everyone is worth forgiveness. She isn’t worthy of forgiveness. She was ready to risk your life for her own pursuits! Even now, I see the way she looks at you, and I don’t like it one bit! Why forgive her and be nice to her if she is so awful to you?”

They all stared at Amity with a shocked look. Luz looked down at the soaked mail and shrugged.

“That’s the right thing to do, isn’t it?” Luz asked. “At least that’s what Azura would do. She is able to not only forgive, but befriends the bad guys.”

“Azura is fiction, Luz.”

“It worked for us,” Luz mumbled. 

Amity flinched at the reminder of her past behaviors. Luz seemed to notice and quickly waved her hands frantically.

“I’m not saying that to make you feel bad! I just mean that despite you hating me at first, now you are one of my best friends! I wouldn’t have known how awesome you are if I didn’t work at trying to be your friend. So, I think I should at least put the same effort forward when dealing with Eda’s sister. You know?”

Amity sighed, poking at her pancakes, “I guess so. But I don’t think I can forgive her as easily as you.”

“That’s because you are a sourpuss,” Edric grinned from across the table.

Amity glared, wanting to snap back, but knowing it would only provide fuel.

“Aaaaanyway,” Emira stood up, stretching dramatically. “This was fun, but the Blight Bunch best be getting back.”

“Say that five times fast,” Luz chuckled.

Gus obliged. “But the Blight Bunch best be getting back. But the Blight Bunch best be getting back. But the Blight Blunch best be getting black. Bunch Bight Blunch best be-…,” Gus gasped with a look of horror. “Why can’t I speak right? _WHAT CURSE IS THIS?_ ”

The group chuckled at his antics as Willow pat his back comfortingly. Amity heard Luz’s warm giggles beside her, causing some of Amity’s tension to ease away. She may not approve of Luz’s new roommate, but she also knew that if anyone could turn someone to the right path, it was the ray of light beside her. If Luz wanted to go forward with this, Amity would help, even if only to make sure Luz was safe as she pursued her noble goal. Sighing, she stood up.

“My sister’s right, though,” Amity agreed. “We had to tell my parents we went to Bosha’s for the night, and if we stay any longer, they may get suspicious. But I’m glad to hear everyone’s safe. Sorry I don’t have time to finish the pancakes. They were good.”

“If you like it, just take them with you and have them on the way home!” Luz jumped up, handing the plate over. 

“With the plate and fork?” Amity furrowed her brow.

“You can give them to me when I see you at school! Or just toss it.”

“Seriously? Toss it?”

“Hey, with all the dishes that Eda’s spells or King’s shenanigans break, we usually have to buy a new set once a month, so they won’t notice if one is gone now,” Luz explained, placing it in Amity’s hands. “So, take it! I insist!”

“Uh, okay then… thanks,” Amity felt her heart swell at Luz’s weird, yet oddly sweet gesture.

“Alright, let’s head out!” Edric leapt up from his chair dramatically, running out. “Onward!”

“Thanks for the fun time, cutie!” Emira winked as she waved and followed her brother. 

Amity wouldn’t admit the slight hitch of frustration as she saw Luz slightly blush at her sister’s comment.

“I’ll see you three at school then,” Amity waved.

“See you later,” Willow waved.

Gus was too wrapped up mumbling under his breath the same sentence from before, or some jumbled version of it, to noticed her leaving. However, Luz made up for the lack of his farewell by walking her to the door, and excitedly waving from the door until they were out of sight. Amity felt warmth in her chest as she followed her siblings and stared at the pancakes. She hoped they could do this again sometime.

Caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn’t even noticed her siblings falling in beside her offset stride. It wasn’t until they bent over, making their smug faces match her eye level, that she finally snapped from her comfortable state and grew tense.

“What?” Amity frowned as she took an aggressive bite of her pancake.

“Oh, nothing Mittens!” Edric grinned. “I’m just so glad to see you- how did the human put it? _Going soft._ ”

Amity coughed on her pancakes, “What did you say?” 

“I must say, you do have an odd taste for someone to crush on. Good taste, but odd,” Edric pushed on.

“Oh, come now, dear brother,” Emira spoke, over exaggerating her voice. “How could she _not_ go soft after last night.”

“You _saw_ that!?” Amity squeaked, ears going down.

“Well, when you two were sneaking out, that thud you made with your cast against the window woke us up,” Edric shrugged. “Not our fault you are a klutz.”

“So you spied on us?” Amity huffed, face growing red.

“Well, we didn’t want to ruin the moment for you two love birds,” Edric bat his eyes at her.

Amity shoved his face away with a snarl.

“Besides,” Emira spoke, her teasing tone lessening, “it seemed to us like Luz needed you more at that moment than us.”

“Even I was impressed,” Edric nodded. “We thought that Luz was alright, and if not, our solution would be to try and be funny. But it seemed you know her better, knowing just what she needed.”

“No, I don’t know her very well,” Amity frowned, looking back at her pancakes. “I don’t understand her a lot of the time. I can never tell what she is going to do or say next. She is a mystery to me…”

“I don’t know,” Emira raised a brow. “Last night, it was like you understood her perfectly.”

“I understand that she is sad and scared, and I know she often feels happy when I do that human ‘hug’ that she likes so much, but it doesn’t mean I know her,” Amity sighed. “I realized that after last night. She spends all this time with all of us, making us laugh, making sure we are okay, listening if we need someone to talk to. She loves learning about us and hearing our stories, and yet I can’t seem to recall a single time she has ever opened up to us.”

“What do you mean?” Edric frowned. “She is a pretty open book, isn’t she? She likes magic, that stupid book series you like, and…”

Edric’s eyes widened as he frowned, “Huh, I guess that’s all I really knew about her.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Amity threw a hand in the air. “She doesn’t ever tell us about what her life at home was like. She never told us about having pet snakes. She never told us about her family that she obviously misses. I don’t even know what other interests she has besides reading and magic. Surely she had other things she liked to do. From what I can see, it’s not even just us who are clueless. I think it’s the same for Willow and Gus.”

“That is odd,” Emira tapped her chin. “With how much she talks, how has she not talked about any of that?”

“She only seems to talk about her friends, how great we are or how she wants to help us. Even when she talks about where she is from, it’s always about her world, not her life. She talks about human contraptions and human foods, but never about her personal life. Last night was the first time she has ever shared anything like that as far as I know. And for all the times she has helped each other, the only time she asks for help is if it is to help others, not herself.”

“What does all that mean?” Edric asked. 

“I… I don’t know,” Amity admitted, her anxiety gnawing at her. “But she is clearly sad, and she is scared. And after everything she has done for us, we owe it to her to help her now, right?”

She looked up at her siblings, looking for some sort of answer to her question. They exchanged a look between themselves before they nodded.

“I suppose you are right,” Edric hummed. 

“Look at you, Mittens,” Emira smiled softly, ruffling Amity’s hair. “Talking all wise and stuff. Guess we are going to have to keep an eye on the human, make sure she is okay.”

Amity would normally have snapped at Emira for messing up her hair or using the stupid nickname. This time, however, her anger was deterred by the thankfulness of her sibling’s understanding and support of Amity’s concerns. She looked down at the food, thinking of the human who had made it.

_I will prove to Luz what I said is true. She doesn’t have to struggle alone anymore._

“Now, onto a lighter subject,” Edric’s grin returned. “What about that healing spell?”

“The angle was poor when it was performed,” Emira continued. “Was the spell perhaps sealed with a _kiss?_ ”

A crimson-tinted Amity spun her fingers, causing an abomination to rise and fall on top of the twins before melting, leaving them covered in goo. 

“That’s for this morning’s prank,” Amity huffed proudly as she walked on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only have a few more chapters before things start getting intense. I'm pumped for it! My brain is already many chapters ahead, even if my writing isn't there yet! lol
> 
> Now about this chapter. I love the twins. They are very mischievous, and sometimes they go a bit too far, but they clearly love their little sister. I feel they love her and want to support her in a way they all know their parents won't provide. 
> 
> Also, you can't tell me that the twins WOULDN'T be spying on their sister and her crush during all that and use it to fluster and mess with their sister!
> 
> P.S. I will be making sketches of some chapters that may be added in over time! Check previous chapters from time to time in case they get art attached! 
> 
> As always, if you like the story so far, please leave a kudos or, even better, a comment! It makes me so happy whenever I see them!


	5. Back to School

**WILLOW POV:**

“So, then I tried to make an illusion of Viney’s griffin, but I messed up. Instead, it’s bird parts turned into a cat face and legs with a bunch of fur around it’s neck. And you know what else? It _roared!_ What kind of cat or griffin roars?” Gus waved his hands in the air dramatically. “Long story short, Viney says that until Puddles gets over the trauma of seeing such a mutated griffin monstrosity, I can no longer borrow her assistant to model for me.”

“That creature sounds weird,” Willow giggled. “How did you mess up the spell so bad?”

“I think I concentrated on the oversized cat half too much when making the illusion,” Gus shrugged, plopping down on one of the steps leading up to Hexside’s entrance. “I have no idea where it’s roar originated from though. I guess I-“

“GUUUUUYS!” 

Luz’s shouts startled Willow as the human ran up to them. As she reached them, she was gasping for air. She leaned against the wall as she kept panting. 

“Hey, Luz!” Gus waved. “I was just telling Willow about my attempt to create a griffin illusion. Wanna hear?”

“I… mail… invite…,” Luz struggled her words as she kept struggling.

“What was that?” Willow grinned. “We kinda need full sentences, Luz.”

“Look!” Luz lifted up a flyer with a squeal. “This was in the mail that Hooty threw up yesterday!”

Willow observed the flyer. A large picture of a carnival rid was printed on the page with “HEXSIDE ACADEMY” written above it in gold. 

“Oh, that? We all got those invitations. It’s for the school’s yearly festival for the Titan,” Willow explained. “Since the school teaches magic, and magic comes from the Titan, the school dedicates an entire day to the Titan. The school closes for the day and throws a celebration in the courtyard.”

“Yeah!” Gus leapt back up to his feet. “It’s super fun! They got game booths, carnival rides, food stands, and… the Juggling Jibberwack!”

Gus clenched his fists in front of him as he bowed his head in an intense glare. Luz blinked and tilted her head. Willow just offered a shrug, just as lost. Suddenly, Luz noticed something just past them a brightened up.

“Amity!” Luz yelled loudly. “Over here!”

Willow noticed Amity, now cast free, and the twins talking a little ways away. At Luz’s call, Amity spotted them and smiled. Willow could see Emira say something to the younger sibling that caused her face to turn quite the shade of red before she starting storming away from the twins and towards the group. Willow grinned, already having a hunch what they were teasing her about. 

“Morning, Amity!” Luz smiled widely.

“Morning,” Amity smiled, the color in her cheeks going down. “What’s going on?”

“I was just showing them this!” Luz chirped, holding up the flyer.

“Oh, that stupid thing?” Amity frowned. “It’s a real drag. It’s always the same thing every year. The same rides, same food, same everything. It’s really boring after you’ve gone so many times.”

“Blasphemy!” Gus gasped.

“Yeah, come on Amity!” Luz nudged with her elbow. “We could all go together! I’m sure it will be fun if you have the right group of friends.”

“Plus, Luz has never been to the festival,” Willow reminded, giving a small grin. “I’m sure she would love someone with knowledge of the festival to show her all the best rides.”

Amity eyes widened for a moment to Willow before puffing her cheeks in frustration. Crossing her arms, she began mumbling in a tone much too quiet to hear.

“What was that, Amity?” Luz asked.

“Nothing,” Amity grumbled. “Just that I guess one more festival won’t kill me.”

“Awesome! Because, in all honesty, there is another reason I am determined to go besides sick rides and dope fair food!” Luz explained, pulling out a smaller flyer and showing it to the group. “I got this in the mail as well! Check it out!”

Willow took it from Luz’s hands and observed the small paper. It contained an image of several doors and mirrors on the front of it. 

“It says ‘Come one, come all, to the Portals of the Realms! Observe our neighboring dimensions at this once in a lifetime exhibit that is sure to transport you to another world. For one night only during the Titan’s Festival.’”

“What?” Amity snatched the flyer. “I didn’t see this flyer.”

“Neither did I!” Gus gasped, looking at it in Amity’s hands. 

“Luz, do you know what this means?” Amity asked, looking up. “This may be the answer to finding you a new way home.”

Luz gave a small shrug. “I don’t want to get my hopes up-,” her serious demeanor turned gleeful as she gave a small squeal and began bouncing in spot, “Who am I kidding? I am so freaking pumped about this! I _have_ to check this out!”

Willow frowned, crossing her arms, “I don’t know. Seems suspicious to me.”

“What do you mean?” Gus asked, tearing his eyes from the flyer.

“The fact that Luz, who just burned the portal and obviously needs to find a new portal, gets a flyer to a possible new portal the very next day. A flyer that the rest of us never even got. Seems pretty suspicious, don’t you think?”

Amity nodded, her brows knit together, “Willow makes a good point. It could be a trap. It may be a bad idea to go.”

“Nooo!” Luz pouted, gripping Amity’s arm. “We have to go! If this is real, and I don’t go, I may miss my only chance to find a new portal! Please?”

Amity stared at Luz with wide eyes. The shock morphed into an unamused glare, “If we say no, you’ll sneak off to it anyway, won’t you?”

Luz blinked. A small guilty grin formed as she gave a small chuckle, “Maybe?”

Willow tapped her chin with her finger, “I suppose if we all went together, we could provide backup in case it is a trap. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first fair we went to that risked being a trap.”

“I still have nightmares of that unicorn,” Gus tensed up, his eyes staring an some invisible creature just beyond their group. “Such an mean unicorn…”

“What are you guys talking about?” Amity frowned.

“Oh!” Luz released Amity’s arm. “The day that Bosha’s pixie got free and started an infestation at school, the three of us got an invite to a fair.”

“It was a trap,” Gus nodded thoughtfully. “There was a guy that we ruined the life of after crushing his stand with a walking Hooty house. He kiiiinda wanted to kill us. Literally.”

“We all nearly got devoured by tiny, adorable monsters!” Luz chirped, her cheerfulness undeterred. 

“Wha- how?” Amity gasped.

“We were shrunk,” Willow shrugged. “Then put in a tank to be eaten as part of his circus show thing.”

Amity rubbed her forehead, “I-… I don’t even know what to do with this information…”

“Ah, don’t think too much about it,” Luz threw her arm around the witch, causing Amity’s blush to return. “It was just another typical day in the Boiling Isles.”

“You do realize that near death experiences are not an everyday situation for everyone else, right? I swear, it’s like you attract trouble wherever you go,” Amity growled.

“Really? I thought it was just a Boiling Isles thing,” Luz cocked her head in confusion.

“No, it’s a Luz thing,” Willow giggled.

The school bell let out a hair-raising scream throughout the courtyard, causing the group to jump.

“Ah, geez! I better head to class or I will be late! Potions class is on the complete other side of the school!” Luz panicked. She went to race off, but froze and spun back to the group, “So to summarize, though it’s probably a trap, and it will likely end in another traumatic experience, you guys are going to the fair with me and are going to help me find this exhibit, right?”

“Yep!” Willow smiled.

“And I’ll show you the Juggling Jibberwack!” Gus declared.

“We are here for you, Luz,” Amity assured.

Luz grinned brightly, “Perfect! We will plan the details at lunch then! See you later!”

“See ya, Luz!” Gus waved.

With that, Luz ran up the steps and into the school with her endless energy. The other three followed suit at a more acceptable pace. Willow looked over at Amity before grinning. Amity has a relaxed smile on her face, staring off in the direction Luz had run off to. It was nice to see Amity letting her walls down again. Whenever Luz was around, it was like the version of Amity that Willow grew up with would surface. All of Amity’s cold walls would come down, and she just relaxed in a way Willow hadn’t seen in years. 

“Soooo,” Willow tucked her hands behind her back as she walked. “Amity.”

“Hmm?”

“When are you going to tell Luz?”

Amity’s expression grew tight again as her ears went down. Gus raised a brow.

“What do you need to tell Luz?” Gus asked. 

“Nothing,” Amity quickly answered.

“Oh come on, Amity,” Willow smiled wider. “You know you can’t hide it from her forever.”

“It’s Luz,” Amity looked at her with narrowed eyes. 

“Okay, maybe you could…,” Willow admitted. “She seems a bit oblivious to all that… but do you really want to?”

“Will someone tell me what Amity is hiding from Luz?” Gus yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

“Nothing. I’m hiding nothing,” Amity snapped as she stopped by her locker.

Willow sighed sadly as she watched Amity tickle her locker. The walls were back up. It was like the moment Luz was gone, Amity hid behind her wall of anger again. Not even Willow could get her to keep them down, despite the years of friendship they used to have. She watched Amity grab her books from the locker’s tongue, her stance stiff.

“Look,” Willow rubbed her own arm awkwardly. “I’m sorry for pushing the subject. I would just hate to see you hide it, then regret it later. She may feel the same.”

“And what if she doesn’t?” Amity spun towards them. “I can’t… I don’t think I would be able to handle losing her altogether simply because I…”

She clenched her school books closer as she trailed off. She shook her head before glaring at the two of them with a look that seemed to hold unspoken rage.

“I am done talking about this, so just drop it,” she spat. “And if you tell her _anything,_ I will-“

Willow tensed, waiting for the threats to attack her. Amity stopped, her shoulders drooping slightly. She adverted her gaze, staring at the books in her hands.

“Sorry. I just… Please. Please don’t tell her.”

Willow’s heart broke, realizing Amity’s shift. Before, she would have come at her with pure aggression and bullying, but instead she apologized and was trying to ask nicely. Oh, how she changed since Luz had arrived. Willow placed a hand on Amity’s shoulder. Amity’s golden eyes looked up, looking worried. Willow sighed and gave a supportive smile.

“I promise I won’t tell her anything. Just promise me you will think about telling her. I hate to see you struggle over this,” Willow explained. 

Amity hesitated, but then gave a small nod, “I will… think about it. Thanks. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”

With that, Amity trudged away towards her class. Gus stared after Amity, clear confusion on his face. He groaned as his shoulders sagged.

“So, I don’t get to know what is going on?” Gus pouted. “No fair.”

Willow smiled, giving the illusionist a comforting pat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, I got another one out this week! In case you aren't following me on Instagram, I have been super busy with work this past two weeks as we are starting a new location. So, things are coming out a bit slower.
> 
> In news to this story, it won't be much longer until things really start to kick in! I got big plans for this story, so bare with me on the setup! If all goes according to plan, it will be worth it! 
> 
> Creepy!Luz may reappear soon ;p


	6. The Titan's Festival

**LUZ POV:**

“Don’t forget to take your glyphs,” Eda hummed as she stirred her potion on the stove.

“Got it!” Luz waved her glyphs in the air before sticking it in her pockets.

“You need some snails for carnival games?” Eda asked.

“No, I got some potion delivery tips left,” Luz patted the change in her pocket.

“Good, because I wasn’t actually about to give you any,” Eda laughed with a snort.

From the kitchen table, Lilith looked up from the book she was reading just to give Eda a judgmental look.

“Do you guys want me to bring anything back for you from the fair?” Luz asked, grabbing her cape.

“Deep fried cupcakes!” King demanded from his sunbeam. He lifted his head as his eyes squinted cheerfully, “It will be a _bread_ -ful day if you forget!”

“ _No!_ ” Eda shouted, jabbing the stirring spoon towards the tiny demon. “I give you one comedy hour a day. You already had it today, so stop making puns or else!”

“ _Bake_ me,” he spoke slowly.

Eda gave him a deadpan look. She took a scoop of the unfinished potion and walked over to the demon. Staring down at him, she poured it on his back.

“Nyeh!!” King squealed as he jumped to his feet. He shook himself, splattering Eda back with the potion. Eda snort laughed again as King gave off a squeal of rage.

Luz chuckled at the scene. She then threw her cape over her shoulders, clipping it in the front. She adjusted it, making sure it was on evenly. She gave a quick twirl, joy bubbling inside of her as the wool cape shimmered in the light. She would never get over how amazing the gift from Eda was. Not only was it both beautiful and powerful, but it warmed her heart just remembering it was a gift from her mentor. A surprise gift from Eda was rare, especially one so precious, and it made Luz feel like the older witch really cared for her.

“Alright, so deep fried cupcake for King. Eda? You want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Eda waved the thought away with her hand. “Just don’t get into too much trouble without me. I’d hate to miss out on all the fun.”

“What about you, Lilith?”

Lilith’s attention was pulled away from her book once again, eyes wide at Luz’s question. Her brows knit together as she stared at Luz, causing an unsettled feeling to stir in Luz.

“No, I am content,” Lilith finally answered.

“You sure? I can bring you some food or something.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I am fine.”

“Okay, well I’ll see you guys later tonight then!”

Luz pet King’s head before exiting out the door and entering the woods. She looked back at the house one last time before it vanished behind the tree lines. Her mind went to Lilith. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t sure how she felt about her.

_“Even now, I see the way she looks at you, and I don’t like it one bit!”_

Amity’s words from their sleepover had continued to haunt her. She hadn’t paid much attention to the looks Lilith had given her in the past, but now it was all she could see when around her. It was always the same few looks, and it was always reserved just for her. One would be a look of surprise when Luz ever was nice to her, like it was bizarre for Luz to be nice. Which that wouldn’t bother her if it had been just that, especially since many may not have tried being kind to her after all she had done.

No, it was the other look that bothered her the most. It was like Lilith was assessing her at all times, like just the sight of Luz seemed to disturb her very being. She always just _observed_ Luz, wanting minimum interaction. It was off-putting to say the least. She couldn’t figure out why Eda’s sister kept looking at her like that.

Luz shook her head, forcing herself to push the thoughts out of her head.

“Snap out of it, Luz!” she lectured herself aloud. “No more Negative Nancy! Today is going to be a fun day at the fair! And if all goes according to plan, you may even learn of a new way to get home to mamá!”

Luz’s mind began to wander to thoughts of her mother. She wondered what her mom was up to at that moment. She wondered if she had started to get worried. After all, she always sent some sort of text to her every night, even if it was just a quick “love you” or a “buenas noches mamá.” But since the portal had been burned, her texts were never going to go through. How long until her mom got suspicious of the sudden radio silence? What if she already tried checking in with the camp when no answer came, and had found out Luz was completely missing? She felt her stomach churning at the images playing in her mind of her distraught mother frantically trying to find her. She hated knowing that her mother may be suffering because of Luz’s own actions.

A hand grabbed her shoulder abruptly, snapping Luz from her spiraling thoughts. She noticed a cart charge past her. Luz jumped back, startled by nearly being hit. When had she reached the town?

“Luz?”

Luz turned to face her savior. Staring down at her was Viney. Barcus and Jerbo were right behind her, giving her a confused look.

“Oh, hey guys!” Luz grinned, regaining her composure. “What’s up?”

“I should be asking you that! I nearly had to practice my healing lessons on you,” Viney crossed her arms.

“Sorry about that!” Luz grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “I was kinda lost in my own world there, huh?”

“I’d say,” Viney nodded. “We said hello as you walked by and you didn’t even notice!”

“ _Ruff!_ ”

“Barcus says your aura is abnormally restless,” Jerbo translated. “Is something wrong?”

“Ah, just got a bit homesick for a second,” Luz waved off. “Nothing to really worry about. Are you guys heading to the Titan’s Festival?”

“Sure are,” Viney placed a hand on her hip. “We wanted to get there before the lines get too long for the best rides. I assume you are headed that way?”

“Yep! I’m meeting some of my friends there,” Luz swayed on her heels.

“Wanna head there with us? Ya know, to assure you don’t wander in front of another speeding carriage on the way,” Viney gave a playful wink.

Luz blushed with embarrassment before chuckling, “Yeah, I’d love to join you!”

“Then, let’s go!” Viney nudged her before walking on.

Luz followed the group, joy flittering in her heart. Even though they were no longer in the detention track together, the three others had remained a close knit group. Luz hardly got to see them anymore since they were upperclassman, and she had been worried that the three of them would lose interest in the hyper underclassman that they had only shared a day with. Yet, here they were, seeming happy to see her and walk with her.

“So, Luz,” Viney stretched her arms lazily over her head, “I saw that daring rescue you pulled at the petrification. Gotta say, that was pretty epic!”

“Epic?” Jerbo shivered. “It was terrifying! I had a panic attack just seeing it on my crystal ball!”

Barcus gave a huffing sound at the boy.

“I do not panic over every little thing!” Jerbo gasped.

“Dude, you had a panic attack when you heard they were changing the lunch options at school,” Viney snorted.

“Hey, that was perfectly reasonable! What if they had changed it to something I was allergic to?”

“You have allergies?” Luz asked.

“Maybe! I just… haven’t discovered any yet. But I could be!”

Viney rolled her eyes and grinned at Luz. She mouthed an “okay” at Luz.

“I saw that, Viney!” Jerbo huffed, crossing his arms.

“Aaaaah, come on man,” Viney chuckled, throwing her arm over him. “You know we are just messing with you.”

“Well, if you can mess with me about what makes me anxious, we should be able to mess with you about yours,” Jerbo shot her a knowing smile.

“ _Bark!_ ”

Viney’s face went beat red, “She does not make me nervous!”

“Who makes you nervous?” Luz asked.

The group paused at an intersection, waiting for the traffic to stop.

“A certain green haired twin,” Jerbo explained.

“You mean Emira? Why does she make you nervous?” Luz frowned. “Is it because she and Edric like to prank people? Is she is messing with you too much? I swear she is a good person and wouldn’t do it if-”

“Luz,” Jerbo gave her an amused look. “I’m pretty sure, if anything, Viney would want her to mess with her _more_. The more attention, the better, right Viney?”

Viney covered her red face, looking like she wanted to disappear. Barcus let out a breathy chuckle at her reaction as they crossed the street. Luz looked between the various faces of the group, trying to understand.

“I don’t get it. Why would she want more-,” Luz cut off abruptly, the lightbulb finally going off. She gave a giant gasp as she clasped her face, “Viney, do you have a crush on Emira!?”

“No, I don’t!” Viney squeaked from behind her hands.

“Yes, she does,” Jerbo placed his hands behind his back.

“Shut up, Jerbo!” Viney gave a small punch on the boy’s arm.

“Ow! Okay, okay! I’m done! Truce,” he yelped. “Besides, we are here!”

Luz looked forward and her mouth gaped. The school couldn’t even be seen past all of the rides, stands, and tents that filled the courtyard, leaking into the fields and woods surrounding the school. Luz felt herself staring in awe. This was going to be great.

“You coming, Luz?” Viney asked.

“Yeah! Wait- no…,” Luz paused. “I have to wait for the others. Amity, Willow, and Gus agreed to meet me here so we could go together.”

“Alright, well we are heading in before the crowds start really forming,” Viney explained. “But we should plan a hangout for next week. What’s your scroll’s contact?

“I don’t actually have a scroll. I have something similar,” Luz thought back to her phone, “but it’s human technology, and so I don’t think it is compatible…”

“You don’t have scroll?” Jerbo frowned. “How do you contact anyone?”

“Well, Eda lets me borrow her crystal ball sometimes, but that’s it,” Luz shrugged.

“Girl, we gotta get you a scroll,” Viney shook her head. “Alright, well I guess we can just meet up with you at school to plan something. Sound good?”

“Yeah!” Luz beamed. “That sounds great!”

“Awesome,” Viney cracked a smile. “Then I guess we will see you then. Have fun at the festival!”

“Back at ya!”

Luz watched as the troublemakers walked off. She gripped a hand over her heart, a warm feeling coursing through her. They wanted to hang out with her again. They truly seemed like they enjoyed her company. That feeling was not one she had gotten used to, despite how many people she seemed to have befriended in her short time in the Isles. She hoped she would never get used to it. It was definitely a great feeling.

Luz plopped herself on the ground, waiting for her other friends to appear. She leaned back, watching the clouds above her. As she sat there, she began to ponder if there was a way to create a cloud using magic. Possibly, she could even make one that rained normally instead of boiling water. She was pondering the possible ways of achieving such abilities when a face appeared above her.

“Hey, Luz!” Willow smiled down at her.

Luz smiled back up at her, “Hey there, buddy!”

“What are you doing down there?” she asked, offering a hand.

“Just thinking about magic and stuff,” Luz said, allowing Willow to get her up. “Oh! You are all here!”

Amity and Gus were standing behind Willow. Amity smiled with a small shrug, “Yeah, Gus and Willow happened to run into me on the way here, so we just walked here together.”

“We had hoped we would run into you as well, but it seems you were already here,” Gus explained.

“That’s fine,” Luz slipped her hands into her sweater pocket. “I ran into the other detention track members and they walked with me. They went in already, though.”

“You mean the other people that helped stop the greater basilisk?” Amity frowned.

“Yeah! They were also members of the detention track before Principal Bump placed us into the multiple tracks we wanted. I guess that means we aren’t the detention track members anymore… Maybe we should go by something else now? Maybe the multitrack mongrels! That’s a cool name, right?”

Willow shrugged.

“Ah, never mind,” Luz shook her head. “I’m getting distracted! We should head inside! I really wanna hurry up and find this Portals of the Realms exhibit, that way we still have time to enjoy the festival!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Amity nodded. “Lead the way.”

~*~

It didn’t take but a few minutes before the group got sidetracked from the mission with Gus buying beetle brittle, Amity proving her superior athletics at a milk bottle game, and Willow taking notes on which rides they should circle back around to. Of course, the one who seemed to pull them off track the most was Luz, who was constantly distracted by every enticing activity they passed. Before they knew it, hours had already flew by, though the group didn’t even seem to notice.

What Luz did notice, however, was how Amity kept growing tense and pausing to look around. She began to slip to the back of their group, glancing backwards. Luz took a moment to let Gus and Willow take the lead as she fell beside Amity.

“Hey Amity,” Luz offered a smile. “Something on your mind?”

“It’s probably nothing,” Amity tried brushing off, despite stealing another look around.

“Doesn’t look like you think it’s nothing,” Luz pointed out. “What’s wrong.”

“I don’t know,” Amity shook her head, facing Luz. “I just keep getting this… creeped out feeling.”

“In what way?”

“Like… I don’t know- like we are being watched,” she rubbed her arm. “But no one else seems to feel it, so it’s probably all in my head.”

“Well,” Luz held her own chin thoughtfully, “I don’t think that would make a difference. With how super smart you are, you would probably be the first to notice. Ya know?”

Amity went red, “I don’t think that’s how it works. I’m sure it’s nothing. Just me overthinking things like normal.”

“Okay,” Luz frowned. “But if you do notice anything, just let me know, yeah?”

“Sure.”

Luz’s frown deepened as she noticed Amity look back again. She hated seeing her friend so worried. Looking around, Luz tried to find something to get Amity out of her nervous state. That’s when a specific stand caught Luz’s eye. She gasped loudly. Running in front of the group, Luz stuck out her arm to stop them in their path.

“Look! An oracle coven’s booth! I’ve always wanted my fortune read,” Luz pointed out. “Let’s try it!”

“Luz, don’t you study the oracle track?” Amity raised a brow at her. “Why not just read your own fortune for free later?”

“I’m not that good at it yet,” Luz admitted. “The few times I’ve managed to summon the spirits, they usually tell me useless things, like what is just about to happen or about something that is completely unrelated to what I’m asking. Just today, the spirit told me about how Kintley was going to propose to Juniper.”

“Who are they?” Willow asked.

“That’s just it! I don’t even know a Kintley or Juniper, and yet it told me about them when all I asked was what they would be serving for lunch at Hexside,” Luz chuckled. “I’m sure that this person could do better than I can. Besides, there’s something magical about getting your fortune read at a festival!”

“Luz, of course it’s magical,” Willow snickered. “That’s the point.”

“I mean, even in the human realm, it was something people would do just for the heck of it when visiting carnivals and fairs!”

“You have oracle magic in the human realm?” Gus gasped. “I thought your world didn’t have magic! You have to tell me everything!”

“It isn’t real, Gus!” Luz waved her hands nonchalantly. “Well, I don’t think it is. It’s at least well known that the majority of them are scams and frauds, if not all of them.”

Gus drooped, sadly munching on a piece of his beetle brittle.

“Then why would you do it?” Amity frowned. “Seems like a waste of money.”

“Mostly for fun. See what they say, and pretend for a bit that magic is real. But here, it is real! So, for all humans who can’t, I must do it!” Luz declared, posing heroically with her fist over her heart. “So, come on!”

She grabbed Amity’s wrist and dragged her over, knowing that the other two would follow behind them. As she approached the booth, a woman with one large eye and purple skin smiled from across the table.

“Welcome, children! Would you like your fortunes read? Only costs three snails!”

“Lay it on me, lady!” Luz demanded, slamming three snails down dramatically.

The lady collected the money and placed her hands on the crystal ball. She motioned for Luz to place hers on the orb as well, and Luz complied. The lady closed her eye, and Luz froze as a spirit appeared. It screamed as it finished forming, and it’s head suddenly split eerily into two different ones, their glowing eyes flickering. Luz frowned at the sight. She had never seen one do that before. It looked… wrong. They both began to speak over each other, their messages overlapping.

Luz yanked her hands off the orb. The two spirits screamed as they morphed in and out of each other, then vanished with a puff. A cold chill made its way down Luz’s back.

“What was all that about?” Amity snapped at the fortune teller.

“I- I don’t know!” the oracle said, staring at her orb in confusion. “I have never seen that happen before…”

“Luz? You good?”

Willow’s voice began to pull Luz out of her trance. She simply nodded, unable to say anything as she processed what she heard. Why did she have two different fortunes? And why did both sound so terrible?

What was the spirits warning her about?

Amity placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder and turned her away from the stand. The three of them were looking at her with concern in their eyes. Luz offered a smile as she rubbed her neck.

“That was weird, huh?” Luz nervously chuckled. “Must have been a glitch or something.”

“Glitch?” Gus tilted his head.

“Sorry, human thing!” Luz shrugged. “Kinda hard to explain. How about we keep looking for that realms exhibit? It’s got to be around here somewhere.”

“Sounds good to me,” Willow agreed.

The group turned to walk away, and Luz looked back at the fortune teller, who watched her with a scared expression. Luz pushed down the terror rising in her mind and went to follow her friends.

“Oh my GOSH!” Gus shouted.

Luz nearly jumped out of her skin from the sudden shout, “What??”

“It’s the Juggling Jibberwack!” Gus stared with stars in his eyes.

Luz looked where he was staring. Among the multiple rides, he pointed out one that had a giant snake towering in the air. It had ten arms, which it was using to juggle capsules that the patrons were buckled inside of. Just watching them get tossed around like that didn’t help Luz’s already nervous stomach.

“Can we do this real quick, Willow?” Gus grinned widely, looking ready to explode. “Pleasepleaseplease!”

“I don’t know,” Willow rubbed her arm at the sight. “It looks a little dangerous…”

Gus gave a pathetic whimper and gave his big puppy dog eyes.

“How about Amity rides with you instead of me?” Willow suggested.

Amity shrugged, “Sure, why not. You in Luz?”

“I think I’m going to sit this one out with Willow. One bad catch and this fragile human is a goner,” Luz tucked her hands back in her pocket.

“That’s understandable!” Gus agreed, nodding his head. “Okay, see you in a sec! Come on Amity!”

With that, Gus pulled Amity by her sleeve over to the ride. Luz gave a small sigh of relief for being let off the hook. She needed a moment to settle her nerves before doing any big things. She watched as her two friends climbed into one of the spheres and were locked in. She waved at them for luck. Amity noticed her, smiled gently, and waved back before the door shut.

“I bet Gus starts crying halfway through it,” Willow chuckled, pulling out her scroll and preparing to take a video.

“I bet he pukes,” Luz added, giving a gross face in exaggeration.

“For Amity’s sake, I hope not!”

“Agreed! Her hair is already plenty green!”

“Eeew! Gross Luz!” Willow laughed, nudging Luz playfully.

They watched as the snake creature picked up the various spheres and their respective riders before starting to juggle. Willow grinned as she began recording them. Luz watched with amusement. A bright light suddenly reflected in her eyes. She turned to see where the light was originating from. She noticed a blur vanishing just inside of a nearby tent that sat at the edge of the festival.

“Hey, Willow? Did you see that?” Luz tugged on her friends sleeve.

“One second Luz! Gus has already started to scream his head off,” Willow shook her head.

Luz looked back at where the figure had vanished and noticed the sign sitting outside the entrance.

_Portals of the Realms: ~Sure to Transport You To Another World~_

Luz gasped, “Hey! I found the exhibit!”

“Really?” Willow looked back. “Great! We can go once the others get off the ride then!”

A crying screech burst out from somewhere on the ride, causing Willow’s attention to return to her recording. Luz glanced back at the tent, her desire to run over immediately kicking in. Just past that entrance could be a clue on getting home, to seeing her mom again. She couldn’t just stand there when it was so close.

“Hey, just come find me after they are done, okay?” Luz said.

She ran off to the tent, not waiting for a response from her friend. Reaching the tent, Luz glanced inside. Makeshift walls were set up, creating some sort of hallway. She did one final glance over to her friends. They shouldn’t have a hard time catching up to Luz. Turning her attention to the tent, she walked inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a longer chapter for y'all! Time for the festivities to commence!
> 
> On a serious note, I connect to Luz a lot on a personal level. Just like me, Luz is very much a tomboy with ADHD. This has caused her to struggle with getting and maintaining friends. It is even mentioned in the first episode that she didn't have a SINGLE friend because she seemed so weird to others. From personal experience from my own life growing up, I can say this really causes stress on the child with ADHD. That child always worries that those they care about or want to be friends with don't want to be friends back. They are afraid of scaring others off just by being themselves. They are afraid the friends they get will eventually leave.
> 
> So, this is how I interpret Luz. Everything she does, she does it to protect those friendships she has finally started to gather. You will see this view of her throughout the writings. She may naturally be both sweet and a badass, but she also just really wants someone to accept her for who she is.
> 
> Also, shoutout to those Detention Track kids! I love their characters so much! They are definitely going to make more appearances, I promise!
> 
> Lastly, I really appreciate the comments! It brightens my day whenever I see them! Thanks so much guys!
> 
> (P.S. Yeah, I know that I forgot to add Luz's cape in the artwork. My bad my peeps)


	7. Mirrored

**LUZ POV:**

Luz walked forward slowly, pausing as she noticed everything getting darker the further she went inside. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her glyphs. She shuffled through them, eyes squinting to see the scribbles in the dark until she found the right one. She tapped the glyph, causing a tiny orb of light to form.

“Awww!” Luz’s eyes glimmered at the sight. “I will never get over how cute these little lights are!”

She quickly stored her other glyphs away before cradling the orb of light in her hands and continuing forward. Though she was now able to see, the light created shadows looming around her that only made her nerves grow. What concerned her more, however, was the blatant fact that the exhibit was eerily empty, and not just of people. For an exhibit about other realms, she had expected to find podiums with odd object displayed, or at least some sort of photos hanging on the makeshift walls. 

Something was wrong.

She turned towards the exit, “Maybe… I should just wait for-“

The floor shook as vines shot out, blocking out the entrance. Luz startled from the vines sudden appearance and accidentally popped her light orb. She scrambled to pull her glyphs back out and began to shuffle through them. Her breathing quickened as she mumbled urgently under her breath.

“Whereisitwhereisitwhereis- there it is!”

She tapped one of the pages. The paper crumpled up as a new orb formed in front of her. She looked up and jumped back with a gasp. A few feet away stood a person in a white cloak, their face hidden behind a golden owl mask that shined ominously in the orb’s light. Though different from most outfits, the uniform the stranger adorned was clearly belonging to someone of the Emperor’s Coven.

“Stay back!” Luz demanded with more confidence than she felt. She waved her glyphs in the air for emphasis, “I got magic and I’m not afraid to use it!”

“Oh… my gosh!” The person gasped, hands cupping their covered face. “Are those the glyphs I've heard about!?”

“W-wait,” Luz faltered. "What?"

“I was told you found a glyph system to make magic work! I have been so excited to see!” The figure rushed towards Luz, who took a hesitant step back. The person seemed to be jumping in spot as she looked down at the papers. The person’s head cocked dramatically. “But… it’s just paper? How does it work?”

Luz's eyes flickered back at the closed off exit, fear still crawling along her skin. 

“You- uh, just tap the symbol,” Luz explained with a nervous grin. 

“May I?” the stranger asked, pointing.

“Oh, uh… sure?”

She handed a paper over to the person, and they observed it for a moment, flipping it around to observe the sheet. The stranger then tapped the glyph and gasped as it crumpled into a small light orb. 

“Woah… That is so cool!” the stranger squealed. 

“Yep! Well, it was nice to meet you, whoever you are,” Luz rushed to say as she tried to walk around the person. “But, my friends are waiting for me outside, so I should really get back to-“

She was cut off as the stranger grabbed her wrist. Luz gripped her glyphs tightly, preparing for an attack, before looking back at the stranger.

“Don’t you want to know who I am first? After all, introductions are usually common when you meet someone new,” the voice spoke, it’s tone growing a bit colder. 

“Right, well… I would, but I should really-“

She was cut off as their free hand raised, sliding the mask off. Luz’s eyes widened as she stared at what could only be described as the witch version of herself. She forgot her concerns for a moment as she fully turned towards her witch twin. 

“You… look like me!”

“That’s because I am you,” the witch grinned. “Or at least, the you of this dimension. You are my human counterpart apparently.”

“This… this is astounding!” Luz grinned, forgetting her fears. “This is a huge discovery! That means there may be other versions of everyone here, but in my world! That means that this is a multiverse situation! Oh my gosh, my mind is currently just like-“

Luz did a blasting noise as she made a motion of her mind exploding.

“We have to show the others! They are going to freak!” Luz pulled her towards the entrance.

“Yeah, about that. I can’t let them know,” the witch version hummed as she pulled away. “Not yet, at least.”

“What?” Luz frowned. “Why not?”

“Oh,” she grinned, spinning a spell circle in the air, “you will see soon enough.”

~*~

**AMITY POV:**

Amity watched in disgust as Gus continued to vomit in a nearby trashcan. She had spent the last few moments of the ride threatening Gus’ life if he was to puke on her before escaping the capsule. She regretted riding with the small witch, having been unable to just enjoy the ride with his cries and sickness. Thankfully, he managed to hold in the worst part until he was off. 

“Remind me to never ride that again,” Gus whined as he finally pulled away from the can.

“I won’t be around if you do ever try,” Amity wrinkled her nose as the smell of vomit reached her. “Come on. Let’s get back to the others.”

Gus nodded and the two of them went over to where they left the girls. Amity paused as Willow raced over alone.

“Gus, that was hilarious,” Willow giggled. “I caught the whole thing on my scroll, too!”

“Noooo!” Gus cried, clinging to Willow’s arm. “How could you? Delete it! Please, Willow! My reputation is on the line!”

“What reputation?” Willow chuckled.

“That’s a fair point,” Gus agreed seriously before continuing to wail, “but pleeeease!”

“Oh, all right,” Willow smiled gently. “But you owe me one.”

“Deal!”

“Hey, Willow?” Amity frowned, looking around the crowd. “Where is Luz?”

“Oh, right,” Willow looked up from her scroll after deleting the video. “Luz said she found the exhibit and pointed it out to me while you were riding. Guess she must have ran off to check it out?”

 _Now stay in sight, or you’ll be lost,_ the spirit’s voices echoed in her mind, causing her ears to lower. 

Amity’s brows furrowed, “And you just let her go? Did you not hear the oracle’s warning?”

“What do you mean?” Willow frowned. “I thought it was messed up?”

“Yeah, it was a jumbled mess. I barely understood what it was saying,” Gus agreed. “I mean, it didn’t sound good, but I didn’t catch the words. Why? What did it say?”

“It said she had to stay in sight,” she growled. “Where did she go?”

“She’s just in there,” Willow pointed at a nearby tent. “Oh, weird… the sign out front is gone now…”

Amity didn’t wait, speed walking over to the tent at the edge of the woods. 

_…you’ll be lost… you’ll be lost… you’ll be-_

A cry erupted from inside the tent, causing Amity to start sprinting. The three of them burst through the tent flap, only to immediately slam into a wall of vines. Amity let out a curse as she assessed the barrier. 

“I got this,” Willow declared, stepping forward. 

She placed her hands on the vines, and within a few seconds, forced the vines to retreat back into the ground. All they could see was darkness beyond them. Amity drew a large spell circle, causing a big ball of light to illuminate the room. A gasp erupted from the others, and Amity felt her chest tighten at the sight before them. Blasted and broken wood planks littered the floor of the tent. Parts of the wood seemed charred from flames, and various vines were sprouted from various spots around the room. It looked a mess. It looked _bad._

“Luz? You here?” Willow called out.

Amity moved forward, scanning the rubble for some sign of Luz. She paused as her eyes landed on something shimmering in the light under a large plank. 

“Guys, help me move this,” Amity instructed, gripping the plank. 

The three of them grabbed it and pulled it back. Amity reached down and grabbed the object. She felt her hands begin to tremble at the sight. It was Luz’s cape, and though it was dark, she could just make out the few drops of blood on the hood. 

“Th-this isn’t good!” Gus stammered. “Luz would never take that cape off. She hasn’t stopped wearing it since she got it!”

Amity’s mind was in hyperdrive as she stared at the cape. 

_…you’ll be lost…_

Tears began to prickle in the corner of her eye. 

“Hey, look!”

Willow’s voice caused Amity to snap her gaze up from the cape, following Willow eyes to an evident tear in the back of the tent. Amity clenched the cape tight to her chest as they all made their way over. Amity exited through the tear first, and looked around as the others followed. 

Nothing but woods stared back at them. 

“Luz!” Amity shouted desperately. 

“Luz, where are you!?” Gus cried out behind her. 

_…lost…lost...lost...lost...lost..._

Amity looked down at the cape in her hands, which were now shaking badly. She ran her thumb over the fabric. She had let Luz down. She should have stayed with her. Instead, she allowed herself to get distracted. Now, Luz was who-knows-where, lost to her, just like the oracle predicted. 

“Amity?” Willow’s voice wavered.

Amity looked back at the others, who stared at her with eyes that reflected her own fears. The sight caused something to click inside of Amity, and her fear was suddenly replaced with a newfound determination. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she collected herself. She glanced once more at the cape, then swung it over her shoulders and clipped it in place. She ran the fabric between her fingers, adding fuel to her fire as she looked back at Gus and Willow.

“Let’s go find Luz,” Amity declared, turning to face the woods. 

The others didn’t even argue as the all followed her into the forest. They walked for ages, desperately calling out Luz’s name, praying they would eventually hear her respond. Amity focused on her mission, keeping her mind busy at the task at hand in efforts to keep her mind from spinning out again. 

“Hey, Willow?” Gus’ voice spoke quietly. “It’s been an hour. Shouldn’t we head back and tell someone?”

Amity spun on her heels to glare at the small boy, “Are you crazy?”

Gus froze up under her death stare, “W- we need to tell an adult! They can help us look for her!”

“And who are you going to tell, Gus?” Amity snapped. “Luz is a wanted criminal. If we go to the authorities, do you think they would care she was gone? And if they did find her, they wouldn’t just bring her back! They will-… No. No, it’s not an option.”

“Amity, we aren’t going to go to the authorities,” Willow spoke carefully, walking protectively in front of Gus. “But maybe we could-“

Amity’s ear twitched.

“Quiet!”

Willow frowned, “Hey, there is no reason-“

“I said quiet!” Amity spoke urgently.

The others seemed to pick up on her tone and grew silent. Once again, Amity heard it. Rustling somewhere in the woods, coming closer. An aggressive mumbling could just barely be heard. Amity raised her hand, preparing to cast a spell circle.

“-Stupid forest. Stupid bugs. Stupid- Woah!”

Luz suddenly appeared, falling haphazardly out of a shrub and onto the ground in front of them.

“Luz!?” the group gasped in unison.

Luz looked up at them abruptly, shock on her face, “Oh! Uh, hey there! What’s up?”

Amity watched in shock as Willow and Gus ran over, helping Luz back to her feet.

“What’s up?” Gus huffed. “We have been looking for you for over an hour!”

“What happened? Why did you run off like that?” Willow asked, dusting off Luz’s shirt of leaves.

Luz’s eyes met Amity’s, causing Amity to realize she still had her hand raised for a spell. Amity blushed, lowering her hand quickly. Luz’s form relaxed a bit as she turned back to Willow.

“Right, sorry about that,” Luz shrugged, shoving her hands into her sweater pocket. “I thought I saw something and went to go check it out. Guess I got a bit lost. But I’m good now.”

“Are you sure you are okay?” Amity asked, noting the waver in her own voice.

“Yeah,” Luz waved off. “No worries. I’m fine. Oh hey, is that my cape?”

Amity looked down at the cape, “Oh! Yeah. Here.”

She went to take it off when Luz shook her head, “Nah, keep it.”

“What?” Amity’s eyes grew wide.

“Keep it,” Luz shrugged. “It’s just a cape. Besides, it looks good on you. Anyway, I don’t know about you all, but I’ve had enough excitement for the day. Let’s head back.”

With that, Luz marched forward towards the sounds of the festival. Amity looked back at the pair still standing in place. The two both gave a confused shrug before following after their friend. Amity hesitated, looking out to the direction Luz had come from. She peeled herself away from her spot and began to catch up with the others. Once she reached them, she fell in stride beside Luz. 

As they walked on, Amity looked down at the cape, her mind feeling muddled. This cape was extremely important to Luz. Why was she so willing to give it away. Or maybe was it that she was only willing to give it up to Amity? That thought made her blush. She shook her head, forcing herself to sweep the idea away before her hopes were raised.

She looked up at the others. Willow and Gus were back to their normal selves, chatting away about some theories on what Luz could have seen the shadow of. However, Luz remained aloof, her eyes distant as she simply walked on. 

“Hey, you good?” Amity’s brows knit together.

Luz’s eyes regained their attentive energy as she looked over to Amity. Amity blushed under Luz’s watchful eyes. The human looked her up and down, before giving a wide grin.

“Yep! I'm great,” she replied past the smile.

Amity’s ears went down as Luz returned her eyes forward. A cold chill shot through her. Something about Luz’s smile felt… off. 

_Don’t be ridiculous, Amity,_ she lectured internally, staring forward as well. _You are just imagining things. Luz is here, and she is fine._

Amity’s hands wrapped around the edges of the cape, her ears still lowered.

_She is fine…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty then! Let the shenanigans commence! 
> 
> Joker voice: "And here. we. go..."
> 
> Who is ready for some angst??


	8. Even Demons Have Inner Demons

**KING POV:**

King tiptoed his way into the kitchen, looking around cautiously before entering further. He crept inside slowly. Content that it was safe, King jumped up onto the kitchen counter. As quietly as possible, King opened and closed the various cupboard doors. At the last door, something caught his eye at the very top shelf behind the cereal boxes. He climbed up shelf by shelf, sliding the boxes out of the way. His eyes widened at the sight. 

“Nyeh heh heh!” he chuckled as he stretched his arm to the back of the shelf.

He scooped a large ceramic owl cookie jar into his arms. He froze as a cracking noise sounded under his feet. A moment later, the shelving collapsed under his weight, causing him to fall. He landed roughly onto the counter. He let out a yelp and curled up as various plates and food showered down on him and his jar. As the dangerous rain ended, he dared to sneak a peak at his jar. He let out a relieved sigh as he found the jar still intact. Jumping up onto his hind paws, he yanked open the jar. His eyes shimmered at the sight. At least a half a dozen chocolate chip cookies sat inside.

“I knew she was hiding human treats from me!” King narrowed his eyes.

Without hesitation, King began snarfing down the cookies, crumbs flying around him. He squealed in delight at the taste as he ate one after another after another.

“What in Titan’s-“

King froze at Eda’s voice, realizing he had forgotten to keep an eye out. Now she locked eyes on him, her gaze suddenly turning very dark.

“King,” Eda glared from across the kitchen. “Put that cookie down right now or so help me.”

King was frozen in spot on the counter top, the final cookie hovering in front of his opened mouth. Eda glared at him with her mismatched eyes. Her whole form stood rigid in the doorway of the kitchen. King glanced down at the small cookie sitting in his paw, weighing out his options. Taking a deep breath, he steadily met Eda’s stare once again.

“The king of demons takes orders from no one!” he shouted before shoving the cookie into his mouth.

“Oh, you are going to regret that, you pint sized-“

King squeaked as Eda rushed him. He leapt off the counter just in time as Eda slammed into it roughly with a pained grunt. King scampered away to the living room, shouting in terror. 

“Edalyn, please calm down,” Lilith grumbled from the couch as she held her mug protectively. 

“Stay out of this, Lilith,” Eda growled as she entered the room. “This is between me and that thief that took the last cookie!”

“I regret nothing, mortal!” King cried as he narrowed his eyes. 

“Oh, you will pipsqueak!” Eda gave a threatening grin.

King felt his fur stand on end at her expression. He gave another squeak of fear before racing to the front door. He ran outside, only to run head first into a shin. Luz looked down at him in shock. 

“Luz! You’re back!” King cheered before hiding behind her leg. “As your king, I command you to protect me from-“

King was abruptly cut off as Luz picked up King and swirled him around.

“Oh my GOSH!” Luz squealed in her high-pitched voice. “You are even cuter in person!”

“I am not cute!” King complained, trying to salvage some sort of dignity.

“Yes you are!” Luz hugged the demon tight, baby-talking him.

King sighed, knowing there was no fighting it, “Fine. Yes. I’m cute. But I need you to help-“

“GOTCHA!” Eda cackled as she yanked King by his scruff from Luz’s hold.

Dread filled King and he thrashed around in the air, “No! Luz! Help! Save me!”

“Oh, hey there, kiddo!” Eda grinned, seeming to have just noticed the human. “What are you doing out here?”

King noticed Luz standing stiff in her spot, speechless as she stared at Eda.

“Hoot! Luz was listening to my story about a cricket I saw hop by!” Hooty grinned. “It was so interesting! It came around at high noon and it-“

“Make it stop!” King cried, covering his skull with his arms.

“Shut it, Hooty,” Eda narrowed her eyes. “No one ever wants to hear about that stuff.”

“Yeah, shut it!” King ordered, enjoying the mockery of the bird demon.

“Fine, geez… Hoot.”

“Heeeey, Owl Lady!” Luz chuckled awkwardly, slipping her hands behind her back. “You- uh… are looking good.”

“Always am,” Eda winked as she shot some finger guns. “But thanks. How was the festival?”

“Oh, it was perfect!” Luz shrugged stiffly.

“And that exhibit thing you kept mentioning? How did that turn out?”

“It was… productive,” Luz cracked a small smile, leaning back on her heels. 

“So, you found a portal?” Eda asked with a tone of excitement. “Because that could really help my side business stay afloat.”

“Oh, no,” Luz shook her head. “I didn’t find anything about portals. But it was helpful in other ways.”

“Blah, spare me the details,” King huffed, crossing his arms. “I’m already bored.”

“Right,” Luz nodded, pushing past Eda to enter the house. “Plus, I am reeeeally tired. I should really be heading to-“

Luz spotted Lilith reading on the couch, and a silent moment passed between the two. 

“Um… welcome back, human,” Lilith acknowledged.

“Yeah,” Luz crossed her arms, glaring. “Hi.”

King and Eda passed each other a confused look. Remembering he was still in Eda’s grip, King obnoxiously licked Eda’s arm.

“Ugh!” Eda exclaimed as she dropped the demon. “Gross, King!”

“Freedom!” King cheered as she grabbed Luz’s arm. “Let’s go Luz! Before she recovers!”

“Your chores list is only growing!” Eda shouted after them as they escaped.

King pulled Luz with a maniacal laugh as they raced to the small room that the human resided in. As they got inside, King turned and slammed shut the door. Luz simply watched him, a look of confusion in her eyes. King rubbed his neck.

“Ah, yeah, so we gotta keep this door locked for the night. I think Eda may hunt me down for revenge after what I just did,” King shrugged. “Eating her last human realm cookie wasn’t probably the smartest move, but I have no regrets. And don’t try to make me feel bad, because it’s her fault for not sharing any of them before I found them!”

“Sure thing!” Luz agreed. 

King froze, “Oh-… well good. Because I wouldn’t have listened if you tried.”

Luz went silent as she glanced around the room, seeming to take in every nook and cranny. King tilted his head as he watched her do a 360 spin.

“You okay there, Luz?” King finally asked, catching her attention.

“Yep, just admiring my room,” Luz explained. 

“Whatever. I don’t have any interest in trying to understand your weird human behaviors,” King said, giving a wide yawn. “I’m ready to go into a cookie coma. So I’m gonna go ahead and sleep. Don’t make too much noise as you get ready for bed. And make sure you don’t accidentally kick me again as you get in the sleep cocoon! Got it?”

“Wait, you are going to be sleeping in here? With me?” Luz frowned, eyes wide.

“Well, duh,” King rolled his eyes. “Why are you so surprised? We do this every night.”

“Riiiight,” Luz’s hands opened and closed at her side as her eyes flicked to the side. “That- that may have been the case before, but I think I should start sleeping alone from now on.”

“What!? Why?” King cried out. “It’s about the cookies, isn’t it? You were planning to be the one to steal them first, weren’t you?”

“That’s stupid,” Luz crossed her arms. “I just think a girl should have her privacy is all.”

“Luz, you wouldn’t actually throw me out there with Eda on the hunt for my skin, would you?”

Luz watched him for a moment before grabbing the handle of the door and opening it. King felt his heart break, hurt that Luz was kicking him out for the first time. A wave of various emotions swirled around his head. He settled his focus on his anger. He plopped onto the floor, crossing his arms in defiance. 

“I’m not going anywhere!” King huffed. “A king should be pampered, not thrown onto the streets! I demand to stay and sleep on the comfy sleep cocoon like you.”

Luz stared at him with an unamused look, her eyes containing a cold expression. Without a word, she used her feet to push King out the door against his will. She proceeded to close the door and lock it behind her. King gave a small whimper, his heart breaking as he placed his front paws against the door. Had he done something wrong to make the human mad at him? 

King gave a dejected sigh as he dragged himself back to the living room sadly, heading for the couch.

“I’m giving you a chance to come clean, Lilith,” Eda was standing in front of Lilith with her arms crossed.

Lilith gave a groan from the couch as she rubbed her head, “Edalyn, I am not lying. I have not done anything to the human since I have come to stay here. I’m not an idiot.”

“That’s still up for debate,” Eda narrowed her eyes, “but that’s beside the point. Luz seemed fine with you all week, and suddenly she is acting like she has some sort of newfound grudge against you. She wouldn’t act that way if you hadn’t- King?”

King was scrambling up the edge of the couch until he had successfully climbed onto the seat beside Lilith. He ignored the sister’s eyes as he spun around, kneaded the spot, and laid down with a huff. 

“I am going to sleep now, so please stop with the disgusting sibling antics so I can actually rest,” King grumbled.

“Why are you sleeping out here?” Eda asked. “You usually sleep with Luz nowadays.”

“Plus, this is where I sleep,” Lilith mumbled.

“Luz said I can’t sleep with her anymore,” King snarled. “Something about girl privacy or whatever.”

“See? I’m not the only one she is treating different! Don’t blame me for her weird behavior.”

“That doesn’t sound like Luz,” Eda hummed, rubbing her chin. She stood silent before shrugging, “Probably just upset about not finding a new portal. I’m sure she will be back to normal tomorrow. But you?”

She points aggressively at her sister, eyes narrowed. Lilith narrowed her eyes back.

“You better be extra sugar sweet to my kid until then. I don’t need a duel erupting in my house just because you aren’t comfortable with humans.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Lilith crossed her arms. “I have no issues with her due to her species.”

“Oh, please,” King laughed dryly, sitting up slightly to mock her. “Anyone with eyes can see you hate Luz. Whenever you see her enter the room, you get all weird. You avoid her as much as you can.”

“It’s true she makes me… nervous. But it has nothing to do with her being a human,” Lilith explained, gripping the closed book in her lap. “She just… reminds me of someone I knew in the Emperor’s Coven I suppose. Someone very bad.”

“Well, Luz is not bad,” Eda pointed out. “In fact, for someone in the Bad Girl Coven, she isn’t very much of a bad girl at all. She’s too nice for it.”

“Except when she took down several soldiers, attacked me, assaulted the emperor, and threatened a high ranking officer with fire before freeing multiple wanted criminals,” Lilith gave her a deadpan look.

“I’m still so proud of her for that!” Eda smiled, wiping away a single tear. 

“Whatever,” King snarled. “Can we cut the chit chat already and go to sleep?”

“Alright, grumpy pants,” Eda chuckled, earning a growl of irritation from the demon. “I’m going to my room for the night. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my nest.”

King watched as Eda walked away, giving an exaggerated yawn as she vanished up the stairs. King looked back at Lilith, noticing her stare at the closed book with worry. She noticed him staring and quickly opened her book.

“I’m still going to read for a while,” Lilith said. “So I suppose you can sleep there until I lay down for the night.”

King didn’t respond as he sunk back into his sleeping position. With no one to get mad at, he felt his anger dissipate, leaving nothing but sadness at being pushed out by Luz. He let out a long sigh before closing his eyes to sleep, praying to the Titan that Luz would let him back in tomorrow.

**AMITY POV:**

Amity entered the large doors to her home, her mind replaying the festival’s events on loop. Closing the doors behind her, she paused, rubbing the fabric of the cape in her fingers once again. 

“Amity? Is that you?” her mother’s voice caused her to spin around.

“Yeah,” Amity replied, trying to recover. “It’s me.”

Her mother appeared from the other room, giving her a quick once over. Her eyebrows knit together as she approached Amity. Amity felt her entire body tense up as she approached.

“Is that a new cape, dear?” she asked, lifting a piece of the fabric closer for inspection.

“Yeah. Someone gave it to me at the festival while I was there,” Amity explained vaguely. 

“Well, whoever it was, do be sure to thank them,” her mother smiled, still staring at the cape. “This is a very powerful item indeed! The wool is infused with strong protection magic. Of course, it does seem… preowned.”

Amity noticed her mother observing the small blood stain on the cape. A hint of disgust rested on the older woman’s face. It faded as she put on her signature fake smile.

“Nothing the wash can’t fix. Be sure to get it cleaned before you wear it again, okay dear? No Blight can be seen wearing such filthy garments in public. We do have a reputation, you know?”

“Of course, Mother,” Amity swallowed the fear in her throat. 

“Very good,” her mother nodded, seeming content. “Now go ahead to bed, why don’t you? You still have school tomorrow, after all.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Amity nodded.

Her mother returned the nod before turning and going back into the other room. Amity let out a shaky breath as she felt herself relax a bit. She climbed up the stairs of the Blight Manor and down the hall until she reached her room, closing the door behind her. She paused, leaning her head against the door. Exhaustion weighed on her shoulders as she gave a weak sigh. Mustering up a bit of her energy, she pushed herself from the door. Amity unclipped the cape and pulled it off of her shoulders. 

Her eyes bore into the bloodstain. 

She made her way over to her bed and laid down, her eyes never leaving the soiled spot of fabric. She ran her fingers over the material once again, her mind replaying the day for the hundredth time. 

None of it made sense. Luz had claimed she was in the forest because she was following after some creature before getting lost, but that didn’t explain the scream she heard. It didn’t explain the tent’s battle ruins. It didn’t explain how they found her cape inside, abandoned and bloodied. Luz’s story just left so much in the air that it didn’t sit right with the green haired witch. And then there was that smile.

Amity shuddered at the memory.

She still couldn’t tell what about it felt wrong, but it did. Something about it felt so cold, and it wouldn’t leave her mind as much as she willed it to. She knew it was likely another case of her overthinking things like she always did, but that didn’t stop her mind from remaining fixated on it. 

Amity hooked the hood of the cape on the bed post, making a mental note to clean it in the morning before school. Forcing herself to her feet, she went over to her dresser and began pulling out her pajamas. She quickly changed into them and pulled out her hair tie before going straight back to her bed. Feeling too drained to do the rest of her nightly routine, the witch fell back onto her mattress. She felt her hand barely brush the hanging cape, which she fiddled with one last time, then she forced herself to turn away from it. Casting a quick spell with her finger, she put out all the lights and attempted to go to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The start of NaNoWriMo has arrived! (If you don't know what that is, check it out! It's a month long event for writers to help drill out more writing and build community with other writers).
> 
> The main story I wanted to focus on this year is actually this fan fiction! So, after this chapter, I will be writing a lot more for this in just one month! I already am working on the next chapter and have a big moment already written. The next chapter will be much longer because of this.
> 
> There are parts of this chapter I like and parts I don't. But it is what it is at this point. The next is much better!
> 
> Enjoy! And as always, comments mean so much to me, so thank you for all those who do leave one!


	9. A Couple of Night Owls

**CREEPY!LUZ POV:**

The moment that King was out of the room, Luz twirled her fingers. Instantly, her illusions vanished, revealing her ears and fangs once again, as well as allowing her natural crimson eyes to return. She prayed her sudden demand for the demon to sleep elsewhere didn’t cause too much suspicion, but it was a necessary evil as she knew her illusion would not be sustained in her sleep. If he ever saw her while she slept, everything would be over before it even began. 

Thinking of sleep, she felt a yawn escape. She already felt exhausted, and she had only been pretending to be her human version for a few hours. Her nerves were shot, having to constantly figure out how others expected her to behave. Her mood soured as she imagined having to do this all day long for who knows how long.

She was already regretting not doing further observations first to get a better feel of everything. However, the festival had provided the perfect opportunity to separate and jump her victim, and the festival was only a few days after she had been given the task. It had already taken a lot of time to learn the names of the inhabitants of the house. She hadn’t expected for the human to have an entourage. Waiting for those people to refer to each other by name so she could learn them had been anxiety inducing. Luz wished Belos hadn’t wanted her to play spy first. It would all be much easier if she could just wipe out those around her instead of trying to play house with the shady traitors who betrayed her only friend. But, she wasn’t about to let down Belos. If he wanted her to play the long game, then that’s what she would do. Anything for her friend.

Luz sat on the plush bag on the floor, her leg bouncing impatiently. She stared at the door, huffing at the light still shining from underneath. She sighed deeply, frustration tearing at her decreasing sanity. Didn’t these people ever go to bed?

She tapped her hands on her legs, feeling too restless to calm down. She looked around the room, trying to distract herself from her growing impatience. A framed picture sat beside her, which she picked up curiously. She observed the family photo. Staring at Camila’s face, her eyes darkened, a scowl forming. She raised the frame high in the air, preparing to chuck it across the room. 

_You need to be able to slip into her current life seamlessly…_

She paused, digging her nails into her palm of her free hand. Images of the owl beast’s talons tearing her apart filled her mind. Giving a snarl, she lowered the frame. Destroying the cursed picture may cause suspicion among her temporary housemates. And if the Owl Lady had the apparent ability to change back to a human form, it was likely that she could also change back to the beast form if she desired to rip up a certain witch limb from limb. So instead, Luz reluctantly placed the frame face down on the floor and slid it as far from her as possible. 

Snagging the nearby backpack, she began rummaging through the contents. She saw there was a pile of small papers and writing utensils, a pink crown, and a few school books. She pulled out the textbooks and observed the titles.

_History of the Abominations  
Principles of Fortune Telling  
Beasts and You: Exploring the Zoological World  
Witch Anatomy 101_

Luz’s ear twitched as she raised a brow. What track was the human on in school? She glanced over to the pile of clothes in the corner and shuffled over. Spotting the school uniform, she pulled it out of the mess. Her eyes widened at the sight of all track colors decorating the cloth. A toothy grin spread across her face.

“Well, looks like I wasn’t the only one of us discontent with having to choose a single subject.”

A noise caused her to snap her attention to the door. The light from under the door was no longer glowing. Luz tossed the shirt back on the pile and began tapping her fingers on her legs, counting the seconds methodically. One minute… three minutes… ten minutes. Good enough.

Standing to her feet, she stretched her arms above her head. She concentrated on the memory of the human’s differing features as she spun her hand, magic crackling at the tip of her finger. A blue light and a puff of smoke later and it was done. She glanced at her reflection in the window, assuring that she once again adorned the appearance of a human. Satisfied, she walked to the door, and unlocked it. She cracked it open and peered out, assuring the house was asleep. Closing the door, she crept down the hall. Upon entering the living room, Luz noticed figures on the couch. Lilith was awkwardly sleeping pressed against the armrest due to King having taken over half of the couch as he slept in a sprawled out position.

Luz bared her teeth at the sight of the former coven leader. Her blood boiled hotter than rain, furious that the woman was alive and well after attempting to betray Belos. If it were up to her, Luz would kill the traitor right now in her sleep, but her orders held her back. She tore her eyes away and made her way to the door. She opened it slowly and glanced at the owl face on the door. She gave a relieved sigh at the sight of it fast asleep as well. Exiting, she closed the door softly. 

“Hey, Luz!” the owl sprung to life, causing Luz to stumble back nervously. “Did you come back to hear the rest of the story?”

“Oh, Titan, please no,” Luz shuddered at the thought.

“Then what are you doing out here?” Hooty asked, his head turning upside down randomly.

“I’m just not tired right now is all,” Luz forced a smile. “So I’m going to go for a little stroll.”

“Alrighty then!” Hooty nodded. “I’ll let Eda know for you!”

“No!” Luz lurched forward, digging her nails into the wood of the owl face. “Don’t tell anyone about this. I’m just going for a walk. No one needs to know, okay? It is our little secret.”

“A secret? We are sharing secrets now? Sharing secrets is what best friends do, hoot! I have aways wanted one of those!” Hooty’s eyes grew wide, not registering Luz’s aggression. “You can trust me bestie!”

Luz looked at the demon with a confused look as it gave a dramatic wink. There was something seriously wrong with the glorified door knocker. 

“Well then, if that is settled, I’m leaving now,” Luz announced as she released Hooty and began walking away.

“Have fun on your walk, best friend!”

Luz cringed at the voice as she entered the woods. She had put up with twenty minutes of that bird yapping away earlier, assuming that the cursed thing talked to her because the human would have normally listened. She had given a silent thanks to the universe when the story was interrupted by King and she found out she did not have to appease the idiotic house demon ever again. Had it lasted much longer, she would have blown her cover just to rip the thing off the door and use it as kindling. 

Luz continued onward through the woods, weariness pulling at her limbs. The familiar sounds of the night creatures chittering away only made her more tired. Releasing her illusion spell, she gave a weak sigh. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into her comfy bed within the castle and sleep the night away. But she had a job to do. To keep her mind off of her exhaustion, Luz started twirling her finger. Nearby pebbles began to float alongside her. Every few seconds, Luz would use her magic to send one flying to some nearby tree as lazy target practice. 

A flapping of wings above her caused her to pause her throws and look up. Just above her flew some random red butterfly, some words written on it about some party. Looked like the lucky butterfly had been released instead of being killed by the witch that it was given to. It fluttered peacefully onto a nearby tree branch and gently opened and closed its wings, gaining a moment to rest. 

“Awww, aren’t you just the cutest thing?” Luz cupped her cheeks, her grin forming as she admired the butterfly.

She levitated one of the pebbles, took aim, and sent it flying.

The butterfly didn’t stand a chance as the rock tore through it’s wings, the momentum knocking it off of the branch. It flapped its torn wings desperately as it tried to stop falling. Instead, Luz watched with satisfaction as it plummeted to the ground. The moment it hit, it started thrashing around in a panicked fashion. Luz walked over slowly, watching it squirm. She gave a lazy chuckle at the sight. Raising her foot, she crushed the bug under her heel. 

A feeling of satisfaction washed over her as she turned away and kept walking. 

It took some time, but she eventually heard the crunching noises of rocks grinding together beneath her feet of the rocky trail that would lead to her destination. It only took a few minutes longer after that to finally arrive. A metal fence, rusted and crumbling apart, encircled an abandoned estate. The grounds now looked like any other part of the forest, filled with wild shrubs and plants. The house looked weather worn with its missing shingles and dissolved stucco. Large signs of damage that looked like scars covered the building from lack of protection from the isles elements. Vines creeped up the sides, entering the house through the various shattered windows, as if the forest was gripping the building with snake-like fingers, claiming it as its own. Around the building itself, however, sat a large, dull orange forcefield. It’s glow stained the nearby trees with it’s muddy orange hue. 

Oh, how Luz hated this house.

She moved forward, ignoring the ghosts in her mind as she walked between two warped bars of the fence. Luz passed through the shield. The night’s creatures noises instantly vanished, their sounds blocked by the shelter of magic. Walking over to the entrance, she paused. She narrowed her eyes at the artifact hanging on the door knocker. She polished the orange gem in the center of the silver werewolf’s mouth with her arm, removing a smudge she had left on it during its installation. Content with the blemish-free result, she pushed her way inside. 

“I’m hoooome!” Luz dramatically shouted as she entered.

Silence greeted her back. She closed the door behind her and hummed a simple tune, walking further into the front room. Twirling her fingers, several candles burst to life. The room around her was filled with furniture and decor that was coated in a think layer of dust and cobwebs. The only item in the room that didn’t match was her prized centerpiece of the room. A large cage made from gnarled tree roots twisted together sat on display, holding an unconscious human within.

Luz walked across the room, her feet leaving footprints on the moldy ornate rug. She crouched in front of the cage and observed the creature in front of her. The side of its face had a trail of blood that originated from the impressive gash on the side of her forehead. The blood had already stained the white coven clothes she wore. Luz scowled at the sight. Having been in a rush, she only had time to magically swap their outfits instead of finding some other clothes for the human. Now Luz’s best uniform was going to take forever to clean. Of course, that would have to be at a later date, as she had more urgent business to worry about. 

Luz created a spell circle, causing a dusty and broken staff to float from a nearby room towards her. She grabbed it from the air.

“Huuuuuman,” she spoke in a chipper voice as she began to poke the sleeping figure. “Wakey, wakey!” 

A groan came from the human as she flinched at the stick’s prodding. Luz frowned, discontent. She raised the stick and smacked the shoulder, resulting in a yelp that jolted the human upright from her slumber.

“There she is!” Luz chirped. “Evening, sunshine!”

Her human counterpart sat in a confused haze as she glanced around her, one hand rubbing her hurt shoulder.

“Wow, that last attack I landed earlier really hit you on the noggin hard, huh?” Luz mocked, lightly tapping the stick on her prisoner’s head.

The human shoved the stick away roughly, recognition returning to the brown eyes which glared back.

“It’s you!” the human growled. 

“It’s me!”

“Where am I? Where are my friends?” she asked urgently. “Oh, Dios mío! Did you hurt them!? I swear if you hurt them I will-“

“Oh calm down. Your friends are fine,” Luz waved the idea away. “With the clothing swap and a little illusion makeover, they were completely unaware of our little switcharoo. They couldn’t even tell the difference.”

“They will,” the human warned, hands grabbing the roots that made up the bars of her cage. “They are super smart, and they will realize you are a fake! And then they will come save me!”

“Perhaps,” Luz shrugged. “But with your help, that won’t happen. You are going to make sure that it won’t.”

“That’s stupid. Why would I do that?”

Luz grinned, excitement growing in her chest at the question, “Let me put it in simple terms.”

Luz spun her finger, and her prisoner gasped as ice formed around her feet, holding her in place. Luz walked over to a nearby desk and opened a drawer filled with various glyph patches. She pulled out a power glyph and stuck it on her arm. Walking back over to the struggling human, Luz snatched her by the front of the shirt. She lifted her fist, allowing the power glyph to be evident to the girl. The human tensed up as she spotted the glyph, her eyes growing wide. Luz threw a fake-out punch, making the human flinch.

“You are nothing but a human. And humans… well, you are kinda fragile, aren’t you? I would hate to see your friends faces when they find you returned as a bloody corpse. Actually, I would like to see that, but I don’t think you would like that very much, would you? Plus, if anyone was to find out my secret, do you think I could let them run around, ruining my plans? Obviously, I would have to end any of your little friends that threatened my mission before ending you. So here is the plan. You will provide me with any information I need. You will tell me everything I need to know and answer any questions I have from this point on. As payment, you and your friends will get to keep your lives. But, if you don’t, or if you trick me, things will get…,” Luz reached forward slowly. She wiped some of the blood off of the humans face and onto her fingers before showing it to the girl, “…sticky.”

The human remained quiet, her eyes locked on the blood that now covered Luz’s fingertips. They then flickered to the floor, looking deep in thought. Finally, the girl returned her gaze back at Luz. The girl sighed, glaring at Luz once again.

“Okay... what do you need to know?”

A large grin stretch across Luz’s face. This was going to be easier than she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Creepy!Luz has her own past that haunts her... wonder what it is...
> 
> Our Luz seems to be in a bit of a pickle, doesn't she? 
> 
> I hope you like this chapter! Hopefully it was fun glimpsing into Creepy!Luz's perspective. If you have any questions (not spoiler related), I am happy to answer them! I always loving reading your comments, too! So thanks for those commenters who make my day!


	10. A Smile So Cold

**AMITY POV:**

Amity hadn’t slept well. Exhaustion had set in her legs as she walked on, despite the day only just beginning. She had tried hard to not think about her anxieties from the previous night, but it remained stubbornly in the forefront of her mind. The few times she had managed to drift off, she was abruptly woken up due to a nightmare. She couldn’t remember the specifics of them after she woke up, but the familiar hollow terror it left behind hinted it was of the festival’s events. After a while, Amity had given up and just spent the early hours of the morning cleaning up the gifted cape. It didn’t do much to put her mind at ease as she washed the blood from the magical cloth, but it was better than laying in bed with nothing but her thoughts. And it also allowed for the cape to be good to wear once again. Even as she currently walked towards the school, she wore it over her uniform. 

“Anyone in there?” Emira shouted into Amity’s ear, knocking on her head.

“Get off!” Amity snapped, pushing her sister away.

“There she is!” Edric grinned, nudging her. “You were zoned out again, Mittens.”

“I was just thinking about some stuff,” Amity narrowed her eyes. “Something you two probably never do with your empty heads.”

“Oh! Ouch!” Edric cried, throwing his hands over his heart. 

“Looks like someone is a little more feisty than usual,” Emira said as she ruffled Amity’s hair.

Amity growled in annoyance as she fixed her hair, but didn’t entertain their teasing any further. She ignored them as they once again started talking to each other about some illusion-based pranks they had planned. 

As the school came into view, Amity habitually began scanning the courtyard, looking for the familiar bouncing figure and her companions. She frowned as she was unable to locate them. Amity was sure if she just saw Luz back to normal in school, all of her nerves would vanish. She expected to see Luz nearby with Willow and Gus, going off on some tangent. Yet, the area they normally hovered at on the steps was vacant, devoid of it’s usual energy.

“Where is your girlfriend, Mittens?” Emira asked, resting her head on Amity’s.

Amity felt her face grow red as the image of Luz as her…

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Amity said a little too loud as she tried to shove Emira away unsuccessfully.

Amity blushed even harder as she noticed a few nearby students look her direction before walking away. Amity covered her face, trying to collect herself. 

“Awww, Mittens is embarrassed!” Edric laughed.

“I’m going to murder you both,” Amity snarled from behind her hands.

“But seriously, where are those three?” Emira asked, her playful tone fading slightly. “I was wanting to show her this funny new illusion I learned in class. I know she will go nuts over it!”

“I don’t know,” Amity mumbled, finally pulling away from Emira. “She probably went off to class or something. I’m not her keeper.”

“Yet,” Emira winked.

Amity spun around, throwing her hands in the air, “That’s it. You guys are both too idiotic for me to handle today. Go annoy someone else for the day.”

Amity ignored the laughing behind her as she stormed off to her first class. She was in a frustrated haze all the way to her classroom. She plopped down in her seat. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she forced herself to prepare for the lesson. 

“Amity,” a voice broke through her thoughts.

Amity looked up and noticed her tiny professor being held up in front of her, “Yes, sir?”

“As nice as that cape is, it does not fit the school dress code,” the man explained, motioning to Amity’s outfit.

“Oh!” Amity stiffened, looking at her garments. “I forgot to take it off. I apologize.”

Amity quickly unclipped the cape and pulled it off her shoulders. Content, the teacher had his abomination lead him away. Amity folded the cape into a perfect square and gently placed it on her books. She would have to put it in her locker after class. 

The first class seemed to drag on. Amity hardly heard anything the professor said. As the bell screamed to mark the start of passing period, she gave a long sigh. She knew she would have to do extra research on Abomination Theory on her own time to make up for her apparent inability to focus. She sunk in her seat, deciding not to stretch her legs as she usually did between classes. Next period was in the same classroom anyway, and it was the one with Luz. Secretly, Amity didn’t want to miss the first chance she had at seeing the human that day. 

As she waited, she stared at the cape. It was like it was screaming at her, reminding her of the terror nagging at the corner of her mind. She placed her hand gently on top of the folded cape, tracing the threads with her thumb slowly. Images of Luz showing it off proudly in her bedroom after her adventure began to fill Amity’s mind. A small smile formed as Amity recalled the girl’s goofy grin as she twirled in her cape and explained that it had been a gift from her mentor. She gave a small sigh as she focused on the images of the happy Luz in her head.

“Hey, Amity!”

Amity snapped upright as Luz slid in the seat next to her. She hadn’t even noticed Luz enter due to her daydreaming, and that alone was enough to make her blush of embarrassment. Luckily, Luz wasn’t looking at her as she plopped her pile of books in front of her. 

“Morning, Luz,” Amity greeted. “How are you today?”

“As good as ever. You?” she replied, leaning back in the chair and shooting a smile her way. 

The sight caused Amity’s skin to crawl. What was wrong with her?

“I’m good,” Amity lied, turning her gaze back to the cape, unable to look at her longer.

Her hand was gripping the cape in front of her as her stomach churned. Luz didn’t seem to notice as she gave a big stretch. Amity lectured herself internally, trying to figure out what her problem was. She had felt nervous around Luz before, but the nervousness she felt now was not the same. It was heavier… darker. She glanced back over to Luz, who sat in her seat, leaning lazily on her hand. She noticed Amity watching her and turned to face her.

“What’s up?” she asked.

Amity sucked in a breath. Should she bring up her concerns to the human? Luz always was willing to listen to her concerns before, after all.

“It’s nothing really,” Amity hummed, rubbing her neck with her free hand. “I guess I’ve just been a little on edge since the festival is all. Are you-… are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” Luz’s eyes watched Amity carefully. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s just… I mean… the cape? I found some blood on it. I washed it out already, but I was afraid you got hurt or something. Not that you can’t handle yourself or anything! I know you are capable and all. And I’m sure you would say something if something was wrong. I guess I’m just a little worried. You know, since I care about you. B-but not in a weird way! In a totally normal way that friends do! Oh gosh. Sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Luz stared at her, frowning as the rant ended. Amity blushed, sinking slightly in her spot. 

“Ya lost me,” Luz admitted. “What was the question again?”

Amity gave a sigh, “I just want to make sure you aren’t hurt.”

“Oh! Nope. Like I said, I’m completely fine,” Luz answered, leaning back once again. “I appreciate the concern though.”

“But the blood-“

“I said I’m fine,” Luz insisted, her voice suddenly stern. 

Amity grew quiet at the dark look that came over Luz. The tense silence was broken as the school bell screamed through the classroom. 

“Hello, class!” the professor greeted at the front.

The two of them took the distraction, both facing forward and not saying another word on the subject. However, Amity once again struggled to focus on the professor’s lesson. Her mind was spiraling faster than before. The look she got from Luz just then was so angry. She had not seen that look on the human but once, when Amity had stepped on King’s cupcake. The look she got back then was well deserved, and Amity knew that. But this look she was given, it seemed so out of place. She had not asked about the cape out of malice, but rather concern. Why would Luz be so upset over her asking? It definitely did nothing to put her mind at ease.

Halfway through the class, Amity dared to shoot another glance over to Luz, who was mindlessly scribbling doodles onto her paper. Luz seemed completely disinterested in the lesson, lacking the over-the-top curiosity of all things magic. She had never seen Luz look so bored with class before. 

Something was clearly off with Luz.

Amity pulled her eyes back to her own notes. It was not her place to question Luz. Though something was clearly wrong, Luz had made it clear she didn’t want Amity’s help in it, and she would respect that. At least, she would respect it enough to not bother her directly about it. Of course, talking to the others to see if Luz had confided her problems to them, that was another matter. As much as it hurt to admit it to herself, Amity knew Luz was more likely to confide her issues to them. After all, she was friends with them since the beginning, unlike Amity, who had initially been, for lack of a better term, rather abrasive towards her when they met. But Amity still wanted to make sure that Luz was okay, or that whatever it was that was making Luz act so differently was being handled. Even if she had to just watch from the sidelines as Luz dealt with it, Amity wanted to at least support her in spirit.

As the class ended, Luz bid her farewell with her new spine-chilling grin. Amity ended up keeping the cape with her, ignoring the mocking tone in her own head that compared it to a baby’s security blanket. 

The rest of the day went fairly smooth overall after that. Disregarding the few times that her mind went off on another anxiety-induced tangent, Amity was able to keep herself together long enough to get through her classes. As she exited the building for the day, Amity took the time to unfold the cape and throw it over her shoulders once again. She felt some of her nervous energy leave as she felt the cape wrap around her gently. 

Amity scanned the crowd filtering out the school, and perked up as she noticed Willow and Gus walking away just off to the side. Lucky for Amity, Luz seemed nowhere in sight. Taking the opportunity presented to her, she pushed through the waves of people, not taking her eyes off of them. 

“Willow! Gus!” Amity called out. “Wait up!”

Both of them turned around as she caught up. Gus lowered a weird plastic tube that he had been observing. Amity paused as she saw it.

“Hey, Amity!” Gus smiled. “What’s up?”

“Uh, what is that?” she asked, raising an eye at the odd object he held.

“Oh! It’s an artifact from the human realm!” Gus explained, displaying his treasure in the air. “I originally thought it was some sort of weapon, but last week Luz told me all about it. Apparently, it is called a ‘flashing light’. I brought it in to show the other members of the HAS, and now I’m taking it home to show my dad. It’s pretty much how humans make light without spells or candles. Check it out!”

Gus pushed a button on it, making a clicking noise. A bright light erupted from the end, blinding Amity and making her recoil. 

“Oh! Sorry!” Gus stammered, quickly adverting the beam of light away from her. 

Amity felt her frustration spike at the pain, but she bit her tongue, holding back her aggression. She let out a slow breath as she gathered her emotions.

“It’s fine,” Amity forced out slowly. “Just be more careful.”

“R-right!” Gus chuckled awkwardly as he turned off the light.

“If you are looking for Luz, we haven’t seen her yet,” Willow explained. 

“Actually, I was hoping to ask you guys something,” Amity admitted. “Do you know what is going on with Luz? She won’t talk to me about it, but I’m really worried about her.”

“Why are you worried about Luz?” Gus inquired.

Amity hesitated. Was she the only one who thought something was wrong? Maybe she really was imagining things after all.

“I don’t know… something just seemed off with her today, I guess. I kept getting a bad feeling around her. I tried asking if she was okay, but she seemed really mad at me that I asked. It’s not like her to get so angry. I’m worried something is wrong, but she won’t talk to me about it. I was hoping you guys may have talked to her about whatever it is.”

“She never said anything to me,” Willow shook her head. “Did you do anything to make her upset?”

“No.” Amity crossed her arms, doubt creeping into her mind, “At least, I don’t _think_ I did anything to make her mad at me. She just got irritated when I asked if she got hurt at the festival. That’s the first time we’ve talked since she left to go home yesterday, too.”

“You know, now that you mention it, she did seem a bit odd with me today, too,” Gus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “We had to pick out a new illusion to start researching for a class project. I noticed her focusing on a lot of really scary illusions. Normally, Luz likes the funny and cute illusions, not the scary or dark ones.”

“Hey, I’m sure Luz is fine,” Willow reassured the group. “She seemed completely normal in class with me. I’m sure she is still just a little upset over the festival’s portal exhibit not panning out like she hoped. But I’m sure she will be fine.”

“Yeah!” Gus agreed, his happy demeanor returning. “I mean, we are talking about the person who, after all she did during the petrification ceremony, still was as cheerful as ever later that night. She was perfectly fine then! A little set back like the festival won’t hold her down for long.”

Amity frowned, remembering Luz that night on the roof. The others hadn’t seen Luz after they had settled down for the night. Luz had covered it well until she thought she was alone. Luz was actually quite terrified of the future. Gus and Willow didn’t know how hurt Luz was as they slept that night. They didn’t see when their favorite human broke down into tears in Amity’s arms. 

“I don’t know, guys,” Amity bit her lip with her fang. “I think-“

“Hey, guys!” Luz’s voice caused Amity to nearly jump out of her skin.

“Oh, hey Luz!” Amity chuckled nervously. “How was your day?”

“Super boring,” Luz groaned. “I was late getting out just now because I got in trouble for falling asleep during the oracle track lesson.”

“You fell asleep in class?” Gus gasped.

Willow’s face flashed with concern. Her eyes flickered over at Amity as she spoke.

“Are you feeling alright, Luz? It’s not like you to fall asleep during class.”

Luz paused, her eyes following Willow’s gaze to Amity. Amity stiffened, feeling as if she was caught committing a crime. The creepy smile formed on Luz’s face as she gave a small chuckle.

“Did Amity get you guys all freaked out over nothing, too?” Luz asked. “I told her, I’m fine! I was just a little tired today is all. Hooty kept waking me up with his annoying stories all night long. That’s all.”

An obvious shiver shot through the whole group at the thought of the house demon’s antics. Luz threw her arm over Amity, causing Amity’s heart to skip. Warmth flooded Amity’s face as the human pulled her close. She didn’t fight Luz’s hold, too overwhelmed at the sudden physical affection of her crush. 

“You need to stop overthinking everything, Amity,” Luz continued. “Don’t want our top student worrying herself to death over little ol’ me! Now, how about we head out? I got a lot of extra homework to do thanks to a certain sleep-hating teacher.”

“Sure thing!” Willow smiled warmly, her concerns seeming put at ease. “Gus and I were heading home, too.”

“Awesome!” Luz nodded pulling away from the green haired witch. She looked over to the red-faced Amity, “And you? You coming?”

“Ah,” Amity’s eyes grew wide as she was addressed. “Thanks, but no. I have to wait on the twins to come out still. Maybe we can walk home together another time. I mean- maybe we ALL can walk together. Not just us, of course…”

Luz hovered silently in her spot for a moment. Her eyes narrowed as she suddenly leaned close to Amity’s face. Amity felt herself grow even warmer as her body grew rigid. The human’s face was only a few inches away from her own, staring her down with those beautiful brown eyes. Amity was surprised she didn’t turn into a pile of abomination goo just then. 

The human tilted her head slightly, “Hmmm…”

“W-what?” Amity managed to squeak.

“Nothing. Never mind,” Luz leaned away, flashing a smile as she turned to leave. 

All the warmth she had felt moments ago vanished at the smile, the cold seeping in once again. The whiplash of emotion made Amity grow silent as she watched the three of them walk off. She was finally able to pinpoint the difference of the creepy smile. The gold in Luz’s brown eyes didn’t seem as bright, and her gaze seemed cold. The smile never seemed to make it to the eyes, the grin seeming as fake and lifeless as a doll’s painted smile. Amity gripped the edges of the cape, terror filling her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Late at posting? I don't know what you are talking about...
> 
> In all honesty, I appreciate your patience this week! I had a lot of personal things happen this week that gave me little time to write. But I got another chapter done all the same! I hope you like it!
> 
> As always, I appreciate the comments you all leave on my works! They warm my heart and keep me motivated to keep this story going!


	11. Things Get Sticky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Display of Violence 
> 
> Ummmm Angst warning...  
> I'm sorry for this chapter, but it had to be done...  
> Please hold off murdering me for now! This story won't be complete angst!   
> After all, our heroes are very tough cookies as we have seen before!
> 
> Also, further notes are posted at the end of this chapter.

**LUZ POV:**

Luz yanked at the bars of her cell, grunting with effort. The roots remained unaffected, holding strong against her attempts to break free. She huffed in frustration as she backed up slightly, glaring at the bars. It was at times like these that Luz wished she had the natural born ability to create magic with a twirl her fingers. She gave a defeated sigh, leaning against the cage. 

With the curtains of the house all pulled shut, it was hard to tell what time it was, but she was fairly certain it was later in the afternoon. By this point, the school day had to be close to wrapping up, which meant she had missed an entire days worth of lessons. That alone would be enough to frustrate Luz, but it was even worse knowing that her friends had likely interacted with her evil twin by this point. The idea of the heartless witch being anywhere near her beloved friends made her blood boil. She wondered if they had even been able to tell something was off or not yet.

She recounted the previous night when her witch counterpart had interrogated her. Luz wasn’t stupid. Though the witch only threatened to hurt the people that happened to discover her secret, Luz knew that couldn’t be entirely true. She knew the only reason someone would want to pretend to be her would be to get to those she cared about. She knew that one or more of her friends were likely already targets of the doppelgänger. So, being the only one to know of the danger lurking about, it was up to Luz to save them.

The only issue was she needed to save herself first if she had any chance in saving them.

She had spent quite a bit of time trying to get free, but her weak nerd arms provided no help in her attempt to break the wood. Brute force was definitely proving to be out of the question. She would have to take a step back, find a new way to approach the issue, and come up with an alternative solution. If she was lucky, she may be able to find a clever way to escape.

“Come on, Luz!” she lectured herself. “The others are counting on you! How can we get out?”

Luz scanned the room, trying to find anything that could aid in her escape. Her eyes landed on a dust-covered frame resting on a coffee table nearby. She glanced down at the white cape she was wearing and smiled. She slipped the cape off, holding the very bottom of the cape in one hand and the hood in the other. Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she took aim. She tossed the hood towards the frame, cursing under her breath as it barely missed its target. She pulled it back in and attempted a few more times. After a handful of tries, the hood finally fell over the frame. 

“Booyah!” Luz gave a cheer at her victory. “Come to momma!”

She gently began to pull the cape back, causing the frame to slide slowly to the edge of the table before falling with a muffled thud onto the filthy rug. It only took a minute longer to get the floored frame close enough to the cage for Luz to grab hold. She laughed as she held the frame to the sky in victory. She threw the cape back on before plopping herself onto the ground. In one swift movement, Luz threw the picture frame down, glass first. The glass shattered under the impact, littering the ground with shards. Luz discarded the frame to the side and picked up the largest shard of the glass. She observed it, making sure it met her standards. Once content, she set it aside from the rest of the pile. Luz took the time to gather up the rest of the glass. She paused as her eyes noticed the now-visible photo of the frame for the first time. She wavered, then placed the glass back on the ground in a pile. Reaching forward, Luz slowly slid the photo out of the wrecked frame and observed it silently.

The picture looked similar to the one that had sat by her sleeping bag every night. It was the image of her mother smiling as she hugged Luz tight in her arms. The difference, however, was the witch features on both of them in the picture, as well as a slight difference in wardrobe. It was weird seeing such a similar picture as her own, and it really made Luz question how her witch-self could have ended up being so different. If the witch had the same amazing mom, plus the blessing to have grown up in the magical world, how could she have turned so dark? And if that version of her had turned out so twisted, was it possible Luz could become that way in time as well?

Luz shook her head. She refused to entertain such a scary thought. 

Luz folded up and tucked the picture into her pocket. She gathered the glass and frame back into her hands. Piece by piece, Luz gently tossed the evidence of her work, causing it to disappear under the decorative feet of the couch nearby. Once the proof was out of sight, she snatched up the shard she had kept aside. 

“Alrighty then,” she said, tapping her chin. “Glyph time… which glyph to use… fire?”

Images of her prison erupting in a burst of flame caused her to cringe.

“Maybe not the best idea… but maybe the thorn vault could break the roots?” Luz’s leg bounced anxiously. “Oooor it would simply squish me like a bug. An ice glyph may make it easy to shatter like the movies. Of course, there is always the chance it could make it ten times stronger as well. Oh! I wonder if I can control the roots themselves if I carve the plant glyph into it! Wouldn’t that be cool?”

Luz paused, breaking from her verbal thought process when no answer came. It surprised her just how jarring it was to no longer have someone around to respond. She had been used to her lonely, self-run conversations back at home, simply filling the empty spaces in the conversation with her own responses. However, it seemed it now only made her feel empty. She didn’t realize just how little she had been truly alone since coming to the Boiling Isles. In fact, to her memory, this was already the longest she had been alone since she came to this world. Suddenly being alone now, it was dredging up familiar painful emotions. 

Luz gripped the shard carefully as she began to scrape it against the wood’s bark.

She remained silent as she worked, allowing her mind to hide behind the focus of her project. With that extra focus, the glyph was coming along nicely. It was about halfway carved when a noise towards the door caused her to jump. She quickly placed the shard on the ground and sat on top of it. She leaned back against the bar, hiding the glyph just in time as she heard the front door slam shut.

Luz felt her stomach churn as her reflection stormed into the room. The witch’s face looked drained and irritated as she dispelled her illusion mask, not even acknowledging Luz as she paced the room. 

“Long day?” Luz asked, putting on a brave face. 

The witch snapped from her trance, her crimson eyes locking onto Luz. Luz suppressed a shiver at the look. If looks could kill, this rage-filled glare would have placed Luz in the grave five times over. The witch walked over to the cage, her eyes not wavering. She stopped just inches in front of the bars, her fangs slightly baring in a scowl. Luz clenched her jaw, doing her best to look unfazed at the aggression. She narrowed her own eyes, waiting for the girl to say something. 

“Tell me more about Amity Blight.”

“What about her?” Luz asked carefully.

“I want you to tell me every little thing about her!” the witch snarled. 

Luz felt her heart race. Was Amity suspicious of Luz’s imposter? Luz had to resist a smile.

“I told you all about her already,” Luz shrugged nonchalantly. “She is smart, popular, and great with magic. She is the top student, after all. Oh, and she was friends with Willow when they were younger. That is, until-“

“I’m not interested in her and Willow. What about you and her?”

“Me?” Luz frowned. “Oh, we were rivals originally. She hated my guts, and at one point we even had a witches duel. After having to work together to survive after nearly getting sewn into a children’s book, we became friends. Then there was the time we fought a slither beast together. And Grometheus. Oh, and she saved my hide when Bosha was using me as target practice after-“

“Grometheus?” 

Luz nodded, “Yeah. She was supposed to be the Grom queen, but she was really scared. So I offered to take her place instead. In the end, I was too scared too, and she had to jump in to save me. But, in the end we worked together to beat it.”

“You went to Grom together?” the witch asked.

“Yeah, we did,” Luz perked up, an idea forming. She took a deep breath and continued carefully, “You see, I was really nervous about trying to find someone to ask to Grom. She knew I was worried about that, so she invited me to just go with her instead.”

Luz knew it was a risk to lie to her, but if Amity was already suspicious that something was wrong, Luz had to help her figure it out the best way she could. Perhaps it would clue her in to the fact it wasn’t the real Luz going to school alongside her. If anyone was smart enough to catch on, surely it would be Amity.

“So she _does_ have a crush on you!” the witch’s hands clenched. “Why didn’t you tell me? You think hiding that will protect her? That I wouldn’t notice?”

“Woah, hold on!” Luz held her hands up in defense. “You think Amity has a crush on _me_? There is absolutely no way that’s true. I mean, she’s _Amity_. You think someone as cool as her could ever have a crush on a weirdo like me? That’s ridiculous!”

“Maybe, but everything about your life is ridiculous!” the witch shouted, snatching Luz by her shirt. “Your house. Your classes. Your friends. Your-”

The witch’s thought went unfinished as her dark red eyes flickered to the side. Luz felt her stomach drop, knowing exactly what had distracted her. The girl released Luz and circled to the other side of the cage. She picked up the glass that sat where Luz had been sitting moments before. A moment of silence passed between them, no one moving. A low chuckle came from the witch, and a grin formed. Luz felt her hair stand on end at the dark laugh. 

“Looks like you were having fun without me!” the girl cackled, turning to Luz.

Luz yelped as a new plant shot from the floor, wrapping around Luz’s forearm and pulling her down. Luz felt herself begin to panic as she struggled, attempting to pull her arm away. 

“I will admit, I am impressed!” the witch continued with an eerie smile. “But we both know I can’t let you escape-”

Luz’s heart raced as she felt the vines growing tighter little by little. She clawed at them with her free hand in desperation, her eyes wide.

“-so I will have to just make sure you can’t try to again.”

**_SNAP_ **

A cry of agony came from Luz as an intense pain coursed through her arm. The vines finally retreated back into the ground as Luz fell to her knees. She cradled her now-broken arm as her body began to shake. She couldn’t calm down as she began to sob. 

“Can’t use glyphs to escape if you can’t draw them, can you?” 

Luz could barely register the hissed words of the witch that loomed above her. Luz tried to think of something, anything, to say back, but all that came out was a pained whimper. The next thing Luz heard was the front door slamming shut, notifying Luz that she was once again left alone. Luz attempted to calm herself down as she scooted back against the bars, her cries dying down into unsteady breaths. She carefully removed her cape with her uninjured arm. Within a few minutes, Luz had managed to tie the cape into a makeshift sling with one hand. She put it on, and carefully rested her injured arm inside, cringing at the pain of the contact. 

Luz wiped away some of the tears. She sat there shaking, the reality of the danger that she and everyone was in finally beginning to seep into her racing thoughts. Everyone she cared about was in serious danger, and Luz could do nothing about it. She was the only one who could warn them, and now she couldn't even save herself. Everyone who had ever shown her kindness and love were now at risk because of her stupidity. Eda, King, Willow, Gus…

…Amity.

Luz focused her thoughts on her classmate. Amity was smart. She would figure it out. After all, it seemed she may have already started to figure it out. And then, she would save the day. She would find her and save her like she had done several times before.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like I said, please don't kill me...
> 
> This story is just getting started. I am still doing some plotting for future plans, but I already have at least 33 chapters worth of plot. This is only the beginning!
> 
> By the way, I have felt an overwhelming amount of love from you guys that I didn't expect, so thank you! I have seen so much lovely people following this story, and the comments posted here are really driving my passion to get this made for you beautiful humans! I know at least two awesome TOH artists I follow on instagram have sent me wonderful messages about my story, making me feel honored! 
> 
> Shoutout to briskxing on Instagram, by the way, who made me TWO posts of fanart that I just found!!   
> https://www.instagram.com/p/CH7wYTaJFIW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link  
> https://www.instagram.com/p/CGp05z6pQrE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
> 
> I MEAN JUST LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THEY ARE!?! LIKE... WAT!?  
> HOW AM I BLESSED WITH SUCH WONDERFUL PEOPLE LIKE YALL?  
> I was training at my new job on Monday when I found that, and I raved about it to my boss for the next 48 hours as he trained me. He was amused with my antics (to say the least) as I continued to fangirl like the true nerd I am! Thank you so much for all the love I have been getting! And please, if you ever draw fanart, link me! (if it's on Instagram, send it to my account on there, which is also Lassithedawg)!!! It has made my week!
> 
> To wrap up this endless fangirl rant about you amazing people, I am going to get a second post thrown out there this week for yall if it is the last thing I do as a thank you for all the support! As always, please feel free to comment below, as I obviously thrive on it LOL!!


	12. A King's Epiphany

**KING POV:**

King sat in his kitchen chair, grumbling incoherent frustrations under his breath. King had hoped that after that first night, Luz would allow him back into her room, but she had remained adamant on the new sleeping arrangements, and it ended with him on the couch once again. She also left so quickly yesterday morning that she didn’t have breakfast with him, causing their usual comedy hour to go unfulfilled. When she returned home late last night, she hadn’t said but a few words before locking herself in her room for the night. Granted, she looked ready to kill someone, but it didn’t fail to feel like another personal and painful shot into King’s heart. He really missed hanging out with Luz, even if he would never admit to something so mushy.

King looked up as he heard footsteps enter the kitchen, and found an exhausted looking Luz yawning in the doorway. She rubbed her eyes and waved lazily at the demon.

“Morning, King,” Luz greeted as she made her way inside.

King narrowed his eyes. He crossed his arms and lifted his nose to the air with a “Hmph!” Luz frowned. Giving a shrug, she dragged herself over to the fridge and opened it, assessing the contents. 

“I’m hungry,” King declared aggressively. “Make me pancakes!”

“Pan… cakes…?” Luz glanced over with a groggy and confused look.

“Yes! As punishment for your teen angst these past two days, I demand retribution in the form of pancakes!” King demanded. “At least 20 high!”

Luz stared at him, offering only a blink in response. She glanced back down at the fridge, then closed it.

“How about, instead of pancakes, I make some toast instead?” Luz suggested.

“Toast is not worthy enough of an offering for a king’s forgiveness!”

“Even if I throw on some unicorn butter and sprinkles?” she asked as she lifted a loaf of bread.

King heard his stomach growl at the thought. He tapped his claw on his fang and gave a tentative nod.

“I suppose... it shall suffice.”

“Awesome,” Luz sighed before turning to set off to work.

King watched her pull out some slices and he perked up. Now that she was there, they could finally do their comedy hour for the day. His tail began to wag in excitement.

“And here I thought this morning was about to be _crumb_ -y,” King grinned. “But then you go and turn it around when I _yeast_ expect it by making me food!”

Luz paused, and turned to face him. She let out a weak chuckle as she asked, “Did you just make bread puns?”

“Yes, he did,” Eda groaned as she trudged into the kitchen, hunched over. “And it is too early for it.”

“It’s never too late for comedy hour!” King insisted, crossing his arms. 

“It is if I haven’t even had my apple blood yet,” Eda glared. “Once I have had some, I may have enough mental energy to restrain myself from killing you over the stupid puns. Until then, zip it, or else you are toast.”

The three of them stared at each other. Luz pointed at Eda with a confused look.

“Did you just-“

Eda's eyes widened in realization.

“No! No, I did not!” Eda snapped, her face growing red. 

“You totally diiiiid!” King laughed. “You made a pun! I will forever remind you of this moment!”

“Uuuuuugh!” Eda groaned, falling into a chair dramatically. “I knew I shouldn’t have left my nest yet…”

Luz chuckled lightly at Eda. King noticed her suddenly freeze up. Her smile fell, staring at the bread in her hand. She then turned and set to making the toast. King frowned, wondering what had caused the sudden change. 

A hoot ripped King’s attention away as Owlbert flew gracefully into the kitchen, elixir bottle in hand. He dropped the bottle into Eda’s lap before landing on her shoulder. Eda picked it up and chuckled.

“Thanks Owlbert. I almost-“

Eda was cut short at a long gasp coming from Luz, who stared in excitement. Owlbert grew tense looking at her, eyes growing wider than normal. Luz abandoned her cooking to run towards the owl palisman. Owlbert gave a terrified hoot as he nearly fell in his attempt to fly away. He flew up to one of the high shelves in the kitchen, perching himself behind the cyclops skull. 

“Owlbert!” Luz called, reaching a hand up. “Why did you fly away? Come here little guy! Come here!”

Owlbert sunk further behind the skull. Luz crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, a look of frustration in her eyes.

“Must have be afraid you were going to smother him with one of your human hugs,” Eda waved calmly as she finished swigging her potion. “Just leave him alone for a while. He should calm down in a bit.”

Luz gave a small growl. She grumbled under her breath as she began to storm out of the room. 

“Wait! Luz!” King cried out, jumping up in his chair. “What about my toast?”

“Make it yourself,” she grumbled as she headed to her room.

King noticed smoke rising from the toaster, and he could smell it already burning within. Eda gave a sigh as she twirled her fingers and floated the bread into the trashcan. King spun around towards the palisman.

“You stupid owl!” King growled. “You made Luz mad! Now she won’t make me my food! And who will finish the comedy hour with me?”

“Lay off, King,” Eda lectured, giving him a stern look. “Luz just seems to be in a mood today. Probably just one of those teenage mood swings or something.”

Hooty gave a small hoot down at them, but didn’t come out from his spot. King grumbled as he leapt down to the floor. He passed by the trashcan and stopped. He reached inside and pulled out the burnt toast. He walked towards Luz’s room as he shoved the food into his mouth. He may have lost out on breakfast with Luz, but perhaps he could still salvage the comedy hour as she got ready. He was determined to get her to spend some time with him again. So, with a flame of determination in his heart and burnt bread crumbs on his fur, he walked over to her bedroom and shoved the door open.

“Hey, Luz! I need to-“

King froze, his fur bristling. Luz, who had just slipped on her school cowl, was now staring wide-eyed at him. Except, it wasn’t Luz. The intruder’s pointed ears laid downward as their crimson eyes didn’t waver from his. The stranger forced a fanged grin.

“Uh… I can explain?”

“Weh!” King cried out as he spun out of the room.

“Wait! Come back!” Luz called after him.

“Eda!” 

King shouted desperately as he scrambled back into the kitchen on all fours. Eda looked up from her mug in shock as King returned, charging towards her. He quickly jumped up, climbing onto Eda’s shoulder. 

“Eda! We have an intruder! Luz is not Luz! Destroy her now!” King demanded as he clung to Eda’s shoulder.

“What? I’m not going to destroy Luz. What’s gotten into you?”

A second later, Luz skid into the room, her human features returned and looking very anxious.

“I can explain!” Luz announced a bit too loud.

“Don't listen to her! That’s not Luz!” King accused, pointing at the imposter. “She is a fake!”

“Why would you think that?” Eda frowned.

“Because I saw it with my own two eyes!” King glared. “She is a witch! A witch in disguise.”

“No, no, no!” Luz held up her hands in defense. “This is just a big misunderstanding. He walked in while I was practicing an illusion spell! That’s all! You know, just practicing my school work.”

Eda groaned, “Ew, school work. I don’t even want to know.”

“No! She’s lying!” King panicked. “I know what I saw! She had pointed ears and everything!”

“Like I said,” the fake Luz smiled. “It was an illusion. That’s all. Which I was trying to tell you before you ran off crying.”

“The king of demons doesn’t cry!”

“I can’t believe you got so scared over an illusion,” Eda laughed. “A demon scared over a small spell showing pointy ears. Now that's a riot!” 

The girl shrugged, her smile widening, “Right? Aaaaanyway, I have to head to school now. Gotta show off this illusion to my friends, ya know? I’ll see you later!”

“See ya, kiddo,” Eda smiled. “Start some trouble for me while you are there!”

Luz offered one final look towards King, a darkness flickered behind her eyes as she grinned at him. King sank, his stomach twisting. As the fake Luz left, King glanced up at Owlbert, who matched his gaze with the same look of terror. King gripped Eda's shoulder tighter. He knew what he saw, and it was not Luz casting some illusion spell, that's for sure. That was a fake, and he knew it. And he would prove it, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second entry for the week, as promised. It is shorter, but the next chapter is going to be MUCH longer, so it balances out. It should be out early this coming week.
> 
> Who would have guessed that King would be the first to realize his boo-boo buddy was not his boo-boo buddy? Alas, it seems no one is taking the little guy seriously, as usual. That is, everyone except the one creature in the Owl House who can't speak to support the claims. Poor King!


	13. Broken Hearts

**AMITY POV:**

Amity had become oddly attached to her new cape. After putting it on after school yesterday, Amity had refused to take it off except to sleep. Even then, Amity had hung it on her bed post as before, allowing her hand to touch it as she drifted to sleep. The moment she woke up for the day, the cape was back over her shoulders. Something about it comforted Amity. Perhaps it was the fact that, even after a wash, the cape still had Luz’s scent lingering within the fibers. Maybe it was because it somehow seemed to hold Luz’s warm aura, which enveloped Amity as the fabric draped over her. Or it could simply be that every moment she spent acknowledging the cape, images of Luz filled her mind. She would remember Luz twirling Amity around during Grom, or Luz as she encouraged her while Amity worked to mend Willow’s mind, or even the smile Luz gave after Amity’s compliment on her blanket prop for the broken leg during the sleepover. Ah, that smile, which was always perfectly imperfect with its crooked grin, and the wide, sparkling eyes. That smile made Amity’s dark world so much brighter. 

Even as she approached the school for another day, she was too wrapped up in her thoughts to pay any mind to her siblings. She was hoping to see Luz, determined to see her back to her old self. Once the three of them got to the school grounds, Amity located Willow and Gus waiting in their usual spot. Boscha was talking to them with a smug look on her face. Skara and Cat stood behind her as backup, though not looking particularly interested. However, the upset look that Willow and Gus had was enough to tell Amity that it wasn’t just some friendly conversation. Amity pushed the thoughts of Luz aside as a familiar frustration hit her. She broke away from her siblings as she made her way over to the group.

“Isn’t that right, Half-a-witch?” Boscha mocked, finishing some sort of obviously cruel comment.

Amity approached from behind. Skara and Cat jumped as they noticed her, backing away. Amity stood behind Boscha and crossed her arms. Willow and Gus blinked as they noticed her, eyes wide.

“Boscha,” Amity spoke slow, venom dripping from her tone.

Boscha flinched. She slowly turned to face Amity, all three eyes narrowed. Amity narrowed her eyes back.

“What do you think you are doing?” Amity asked.

Boscha’s top eye raised a brow, “I’m just having a little chat with your new loser friends.”

“The only loser I see is the pink wanna-be in front of me,” Amity assessed cooly. “So why don’t you drag your pathetic tough-girl act to class before you embarrass yourself further.”

“Excuse you?” Boscha recoiled.

“No, excuse yourself,” Amity demanded. “Do everyone a favor, and excuse yourself from our sight.”

Boscha began stuttering, her pink face growing red, “W- whatever! Not like I want to hang around a bunch of weirdos anyway! Let’s go guys!”

The posse left in a cloud of Boscha’s fury. Amity turned to Willow and Gus, who watched with shocked expressions.

“You guys okay?” Amity asked.

Willow gave a small smile and nodded, “Yeah. Thanks for standing up for us.”

“Yeah!” Gus grinned. “Bosha’s face was priceless!”

“I promised that I wouldn’t let Boscha mess with you, and I plan to follow through on it,” Amity shrugged casually, though a flicker of pride tickled her heart. 

Willow smiled a bit more at Amity’s comment.

“By the way, where is Luz?” Amity frowned. “She usually is with you guys, ready to tell Boscha off herself.”

“Oh she-…”

Gus trailed off abruptly as both of them stared at something behind Amity.

“What are you guys-“

Amity turned to look behind her and found Luz standing behind her, her face much too close to Amity’s. Amity panicked as she stumbled and fell on the hard ground.

“Luz!” Amity gasped, gripping at her pounding chest. “What the heck?”

Luz rubbed her chin thoughtfully, watching Amity. She walked forward and offered a hand.

“Sorry, Amity! Didn’t mean to scare you,” Luz smiled, offering a small wink as she lifted Amity to her feet.

Amity felt a huge wave of conflicting emotions. Though Luz’s smile still felt very much off, it did nothing to stop the wave of heat rushing over Amity as Luz winked at her. Once Amity was somewhat stable on her feet, Luz slung her arm over Amity’s shoulders once again.

“You know, Amity,” Luz chirped. “I wasn’t lying when I said that my cape looks good on you. You are looking fierce today!”

Amity nearly collapsed, unable to process the sudden compliments being thrown at her. She began to wrack her brain for some sort of response.

“ _FiercecapeLuzthanks!_ ”

That was not a response. 

Luz’s smile only seemed to grow, however, despite Amity’s incoherent stammering. Luz shot her a finger gun and another wink towards her.

“I’ll see you in class, Blight,” Luz hummed before walking off.

Amity simply stood in her spot, her mind spinning in ways she never thought possible. Even Willow and Gus stared in utter shock as Luz vanished into the crowd.

“Did… Did Luz just flirt with Amity!?” Gus squawked, his voice breaking.

“No way,” Willow breathed out. “Unless… Amity did you confess to her or something?”

“W-What!?” Amity practically yelled. “N-no! I- I didn’t-“

“Wait,” Gus gasped. “Amity, do you have a crush on Luz?”

Embarrassment flooded over Amity. Amity lifted the hood over her head and pulled it down, trying to cover her face that was surely resembling the color of apple blood. 

“Oh my gosh, you do!” Gus laughed. “This is so cute!”

Amity felt Willow’s hand rest on Amity’s shoulder. Amity braved a look at her, and Willow gave a small chuckle.

“I guess we underestimated Luz. She may not be as oblivious as we thought,” Willow pointed out. 

Amity groaned in response. She pulled the hood down once again as she pushed past and walked quickly towards her locker, needing to get away from everyone immediately. As she reached her locker, she leaned against it, trying to calm her racing heart. 

Her mind felt split in two. Her stomach was uneasy from the whole interaction. Luz’s smile was still off, and something was still clearly wrong with Luz. However, it didn’t stop her charms from working on Amity. And with no warning of the flirtatious behavior Luz decided to suddenly display, Amity felt ready to faint. 

Amity took a few slow, calculated breaths, trying to get herself together. Knowing Luz, she probably didn’t even realize that she had practically flirted with her. After all, there was no way that Luz could have suddenly noticed her crush on her, right?

Amity growled in frustration as she unclipped her cape and folded it up. She grabbed her schoolwork from her locker and placed the cape on top of the pile, just like the previous day. She then trudged off to class.

Somehow, by some miracle, Amity managed to focus during her first class. Then second period rolled around. Amity had been writing down some assignments in her notebook. She had been so focused on getting down all of the required information, she didn’t even notice Luz slide in next to her once again. As she placed her pencil down, Amity noticed movement beside her and jumped. Finally having been noticed, Luz offered another unsettling grin.

“Hey,” Luz spoke low and quiet. “Come here often?”

Amity blushed, but forced herself to hold onto her self control. She adverted her gaze, trying not to get overwhelmed by Luz’s newfound behaviors. Luz seemed unfazed by Amity’s attempt to ignore her, grinning wide in the corner of her eye. As class began, Amity only grew increasingly flustered and unfocused as she felt Luz’s eyes remaining locked on her. What was with the human today, Amity just couldn’t figure out.

As she heard the end of class bell scream, Amity gave an audible sigh of relief. Luz suddenly walked around to the front of her desk, causing Amity to look up. Luz offered one final wink and finger guns as she said in a sing-song voice, “See you at lunch,” then walked out.

Amity wasn’t able to move for at least two whole minutes after that comment. By the time she came to, she had to do a mad dash to her next class, just barely making it before the tardy bell screeched. It was then that Amity decided she needed to take a moment to process everything.

Luz had never flirted with her like this before. Luz was so focused on the new world around her, it was like she was completely oblivious to things such as a crush. Of course, there was a chance that whatever had changed Luz all of a sudden had caused her to tear her focus away and onto something new. But even then, that would be concerning all in itself, seeing as it means Luz was still hiding something that had happened to her. 

Something seemed wrong, and Amity wanted to know what it was so bad, but with Luz acting like this towards her, she would never be able to think straight long enough to figure it out. Her brain already had a difficult time processing right at times when Luz was just standing nearby, but now she was practically hitting her with a brain-rot spell every second of the day.

Amity shook her head as she rubbed her neck. Luz was confusing her more and more each day. She just hoped it wouldn’t get any worse, or Amity may find herself saying something she would regret, like confessing her feelings.

Amity’s mind began to calm down during the next couple of classes as she allowed her focus to center on school work. She would have plenty of time to figure out what was going on with Luz, but she couldn’t allow her grades to slip as a result. She would just try to talk to Luz again at lunch. Perhaps she could figure out what was going on if she could just get the human to open up once again.

As the final bell to release for lunch yelled loudly, Amity swung by her locker, dropping her books within. Her hands held the cape in her hands, debating on putting it away for lunch. She sighed hopelessly as she closed her locker, cape still in hand. She knew if she kept doing this, someone was bound to call her out on it, but at that moment she didn’t care. She needed something to help ground her when her mind struggled to do it on its own, especially if she was about to confront Luz.

Amity felt her nerves become more and more on edge as she got closer to the cafeteria. She entered the bustling room and paused, searching the crowd for the human. She felt someone shove past her, and she glared as Boscha walked by, giving her an evil sneer as she kept walking. Amity had half a mind to confront her, but she felt her hand gripping the cape, and the feel of the fabric pulled her mind right back to her mission on hand. Boscha would be a later problem. For now, she needed to find Luz.  
Arms suddenly draped over her shoulders from behind, causing Amity to jump out of her skin. 

“Hey, Amity.” 

Luz’s breath hit her neck and Amity’s mind short circuited, causing her to yank herself away from Luz. Luz smiled calmly at her, brow raised. 

“L- Luz! Hi!”

“Who were you looking for?” Luz asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Actually,” Amity pushed down the fear rattling around in her head. “I was just looking for you…”

“Me, huh?” Luz swayed on her heels. “What for?”

Amity took a deep breath, saying the words she practiced in her head for the past hour, “Luz, I can tell something is wrong. I know you said you are fine, but I know you. And I can tell that you aren’t acting like yourself. So, I need you to tell me what is going on. As your friend, I am supposed to be there for you, just like you have always been there for all of us. I want you to know that whatever is going on, you don’t have to do it alone. And don’t try to say that you are fine, because something is clearly wrong. So, please, talk to me.”

Luz stared at her, her face looking shocked. Her eyes darted to the floor, her brows furrowed together. A small chuckle escaped her as she shook her head.

“Oh, Amity, what are you doing?” Luz raised her voice. “I know you have some sort of crush on me or something, but to try and make up some sort of problem so you can play hero to get my attention is just kinda pathetic, don’t you agree?”

“I- what?” Amity felt her stomach drop.

Luz looked up at her, a cruel smile was plastered on her face as her eyes glinted harshly at her. A few people nearby were already starting to stare.

“I’m not stupid Amity,” Luz crossed her arms. “I see how you act around me. It’s painfully obvious.”

“Luz- I… I never said-“

“Amity, you can’t even stand to talk to me without turning red. I have seen how you act calm and collected around others, like with Bosha, Willow, and Gus this morning. But the moment I appeared? You literally fell for me! And even if all that wasn’t enough, there was the whole Grom thing! I mean, come on. Asking me to the Grom, claiming you are doing it because I was afraid to ask someone out? You obviously just did that because you have a crush on me!”

“Wait, what-?”

“But let me tell you something, Amity Blight,” Luz’s smile faded, now hissing her words. “When I met you, you were a bully. You were a horrible person. And there is no way I would ever, and I mean ever, date you!”

Amity felt her world crashing down all around her. The hatred coming from Luz’s eyes tore her heart to shreds, and her words burned her very soul. It was like Grometheus all over again. No, it wasn’t like Grometheus. Not even Grometheus had been so cruel in it’s rendition of Luz’s rejection. This was a whole new level of agony. 

Luz remained silent as Amity simply stood in shock. Several people were already watching the scene, and Amity could already hear the judgmental whispers forming all around her. Amity’s hands were now shaking bad as she backed away from the human. The human who simply watched her with such distain as Amity’s life started to crumble. Tears were already starting to form at Luz’s betrayal. Amity dropped the cape on the floor and sped out of the cafeteria. She needed to get away. She needed to escape. She couldn’t handle it. 

She ran into a nearby bathroom and entered the largest stall. She latched it shut. Her hand remained on the lock, trembling worse than before. Sobs began to escape as she stumbled back against the wall. She pulled her legs to her chest and closed her eyes, allowing the tears to fall as her entire form began to shake. It was too much. It was all too much. 

She wanted to just disappear.

“Amity?” a voice called gently into the bathroom.

Amity didn’t say anything, but her crying clearly gave her position away. Two pairs of feet appeared outside her stall door as they tapped on the door. 

“Amity, can we come in?” her sister’s voice asked gently.

“G-go away!” Amity yelled past the lump in her throat. “I don’t want to hear it! Just leave me alone!”

She heard a spell being cast, and the lock on the door suddenly melted away. Amity dug her head into her arms, unable to confront her siblings as they entered. She heard their steps approach her. Amity gripped her sleeves tight as she unsuccessfully attempted to stop crying. She felt the twins sit on either side of her without a word. Amity felt a hand rest on her back gently. 

“Hey, Amity,” Emira’s voice spoke quietly. “Talk to us.”

“Why?” Amity snarled from her arms. “So you can make fun of me?”

“Of course not, Mittens,” Edric’s tone mirrored Emira’s. “We just want to know what happened between you and Luz.”

Amity pulled her face out of her arms a tiny bit as she stared at the tiled floor in front of her. A weight was suddenly resting over her, and she knew right away it was her cape.

“We saw you dropped this,” Edric explained. “Thought you wouldn’t want to lose it.”

Amity pulled the cape off, holding it with a death grip as she glared at Luz’s gift to her. She sniffed, wiping away some of her tears as she leaned back against the wall. She could now see Emira and Edric out of the corner of her eyes. They watched her with truly concerned looks, waiting patiently for her to speak. Amity gave a wavered breath as she calmed down just a little. 

“Luz… she rejected me,” Amity finally admitted. “She rejected me, and I didn’t even get to confess first.”

“What happened?” Emira asked.

Amity shrugged, “I don’t even know! All I know is that I’ve been getting some sort of creepy vibe coming from her for the past few days. I tried asking her about it yesterday, but she only got irritated when I asked. Then, today she starts full on flirting with me all morning long! And when I went to ask if something was wrong, she rejected me.”

“That wasn’t a rejection. That was a slaughter.” Edric yelped as he received a punch from Emira, “What!? It’s the truth! Luz didn’t just reject Amity, she was practically cruel about it!”

“Yeah, that is so weird,” Emira faltered. “I had never seen her act like that before. I didn’t even believe Luz could do something so mean. Luz is usually nice. Too nice at times, even. What she did to you… it was straight up heartless. It was like watching a completely different person.”

Amity stared at the cape, her grip lessening. Images of the old Luz popped into her head once again. Her ears shot up as her eyes grew wide. Emira’s words finally sunk in.

“What if she is?”

The twins both passed her a confused look. 

“Uh, what if she is what?” Edric asked. “Heartless?”

“No! I mean, what if she is a completely different person?” Amity asked, her mind beginning to properly process all the oddities she had seen out of Luz over the past few days. 

“What are you talking about?” Emira passed a look to her brother.

“Luz has not been herself for a few days. What if it’s because it isn’t her? What if it is an imposter just pretending to be Luz?” Amity sprang to her feet, her eyes still locked on the cape. She began to pace the small amount of space in the stall, “Luz loves magic more than anything, and yet she suddenly seems completely bored with it. Then there is the anger. Luz is never really been hateful or easily angered, but that seems to be an easy thing to trigger in this person. And this cape! She gave me this cape, claiming it wasn’t important to her, when I know for a fact it is a _very_ important thing to her! And the Grom comment…”

“Grom comment?” the twins asked in unison.

Amity stopped to look back at them, “Just now, when she was calling me out on my crush, she mentioned Grom. She claimed I had asked _her_ out to Grom after she was too afraid to ask someone out. But that’s not what happened at all! She asked me to go with her when I was too afraid to ask her out, and she thought I was too afraid to ask someone else out. I didn’t ask her; she asked me. And don’t get me _started_ on that new creepy smile of hers.”

“Oh my gosh,” Edric gasped. “This… this is actually making sense!”

“Hold on, hold on!” Emira held up her hand. “Let’s just say for a second you are right. What reason would she possibly have to impersonate Luz?”

“I don’t know, but it is the only thing that explains everything I’ve been seeing.”

“Okay, so when do you think this little switch would have happened?”

Amity’s eyes flickered around as she searched her memories. She looked down at the cape. Her eyes widened as she began to pace again.

“Or course! The carnival!” she cried out.

“The carnival?” Edric asked.

“Luz was fine until she ran off on her own for a few minutes. The place she ran to showed signs of a fight. After that, we couldn’t find her until an hour later. She was just wondering through the woods. That’s when she was suddenly this creepy version of Luz.” Her ear twitched as she continued her ramblings, “Luz had her fortune read there just before that. It did something super weird. I don’t even know how to describe what happened, but she got two fortunes read to her at once. One warned about staying in sight of us or she would be-…”

“Be what?” Emira urged on.

Amity stared at the cape as she froze in spot.

“Lost. She would be lost.” She looked back up to her siblings, tears starting to form again, “Guys, I think Luz may be lost, and this creepy Luz is her imposter.”

“That is a serious accusation, Mittens,” Emira frowned. “Are you sure?”

Amity looked at the cape, then pulled it close to her chest, “It is the only thing that makes sense…”

The twins went silent. Finally, Emira rose to her feet.

“Well, if there is any chance this is true, we have to look into it. For Luz’s sake,” Emira pointed out. “Of course, we will have to do a test to see if it is true. And if it is, we have a lot of work to do.”

“I may have an idea how to test it,” Edric exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “We can test her tomorrow before school. That way we can see if Luz is Luz, or if Luz is someone pretending to be Luz. Oh gosh, that’s a mouthful. We need some sort of codename to help us talk about the imposter without getting confused.”

Amity glared at the floor, “We can just refer to her as Creepy Luz until we learn her name.”

“Creepy Luz,” Emira hummed. 

“CL for short?” Edric offered.

“CL? That’s even longer than her actual name,” Amity arched a brow. 

“Do you have a better idea?” Edric asked.

Amity sighed, shaking her head, “Alright. CL it is.”

Edric grinned, “Awesome! Now, here is my plan.”

~*~

**LUZ POV:**

A loud ripping noise filled up the quiet house as Luz tore another strip of fabric from the bottom of the cape. After she had managed to calm herself down, Luz tried recalling how she was supposed to care for a broken bone. She remembered some movies where the characters got similar injuries. They always created a splint out of wood around the injured arms. Luz had no sticks or planks to use, or any string to tie it with. So she had to improvise. She had taken her two shoes off of her feet and placed it on either side of her arm, allowing the soles of the shoes to act as the splint, being the closest thing she could come up with in place of a sturdy plank. She had then taken the cape and tore a few strips off of the bottom, using the fabric as the way to tie them in place. Everything she did caused her arm to erupt in waves of pain, but Luz pushed past it with determination.

Now that the cape was much shorter, there was no way she would be able to use the cape as a sling. So, having no extra use for it for the time being, Luz placed the robe back on, clipping it in place. She observed her handiwork as she rested her broken arm in her lap. It was nowhere near the skills of what her mother could probably do, but it was decent enough. It was at least decent knowing it was done by an inexperienced teenager that was only using movie references to figure out first aid. All in all, she was fairly proud of it.

A slamming noise caused Luz to flinch, her anxiety flooding back. She sat frozen as her disguised captor returned and walked into the room, chest puffed out in pride, and a grin to match.

“Hello, human,” the imposter approached casually. “How is the arm?”

“Broken,” Luz huffed weakly. “What do you want now?”

“Oh, nothing much. I just thought you might want to hear about my extremely interesting day today.”

Luz clenched her hand against the floor, waiting for the witch to explain. When the witch realized Luz wasn’t going to ask, she continued anyway. 

“So, remember how I came to find out about Amity’s little crush on you?”

“I told you, she doesn’t have a crush on me,” Luz corrected.

“Well,” she ignored Luz’s comment. “At first, I was prepared to use this to my advantage. I was going to get all chummy with her, throw a few flirtations her way, and then get some juicy information from her.”

“You _flirted_ with her?” Luz cried out, her face burning. “You flirted with _Amity Blight_? Oh my gosh, kill me now…”

Luz tried to picture cool and collected Amity reacting to the flirting. Looks of disgust and discomfort from the green haired witch filled Luz’s imagination, causing her to feel sick.

“Oh, that’s not the best part,” the imposter brought her back with a grin, staring at her with her fake-brown eyes. “You see, even with all my flirting, she still seemed concerned about you. Claimed that she felt something was wrong. Now, as I’ve said, I can’t have anyone getting suspicious and ruining everything. I could kill her, but that may cause more questions at this time. So, instead, I decided to call out her crush on you in front of the entire school.”

“You _what_!?” Luz gasped. 

“And then, I proceeded to reject her in the harshest, cruelest, and most vicious way I could.”

If Luz didn’t feel sick before, her stomach was churning enough now to make her feel ready to puke. 

“Yep,” the witch swayed in her spot cheerfully. “She was so broken by the time she ran out of the cafeteria, I doubt she will ever forgive you. Any chances of her trying to help, dashed. I bet she won’t have anything to do with us after this.”

“W-why?” Luz felt tears prickling in her eyes at the images in her head. “Why did you have to do that?”

“Because she was the only person who seemed suspicious, and I couldn’t risk everything being ruined by a death so early on. So, this way, the one person who may have actually been able to figure it out and pose any threat is now long gone. In other words, you can give up all hope of a rescue. Get comfortable, human. You won’t be leaving any time soon now…”

With that, the imposter left, her dark laughter echoing in the empty house until the front door once again slammed shut. Luz sat there, tears in her eyes as she processed the newest update. A part of her knew she should be more worried about how she may never be found now, but all her mind could focus on was Amity. What horrible things did the imposter say to her to hurt her so much? Was she hiding somewhere, crying all alone, much like at the covention? What was she feeling at that moment? How much hate did she now have towards Luz?

All those thoughts only made her more and more upset. The idea of Amity, sobbing alone in some hidden corner, thinking horrible thoughts of Luz… it was enough to bring Luz to tears as well. So she did, crying for her hurting friend that was so far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An extra long chapter for all of you lovely people! Comments appreciated, as always!!
> 
> All your love convinced 5 friends and my boss to start watching TOH, so thank you!


	14. A New Challenger Approaches

**KING POV:**

It was morning, and the sun began to pour in through Eda’s window. The scent of the morning dew lingered in the crisp air. Hooty’s distant and muffled voice was the only thing breaking the silence as he sang some song, but butchering it as he replaced the lyrics with either a “hoot” or some sort of line about tasty bugs. Overall, the morning was a fairly peaceful one by the owl house’s standards. It would have been a promise of a wonderful day.

But for one furry demon, it was anything but.

King still remained tucked within Eda’s hair as she slept, only one eye peaking out as it watched the door. He had not slept at all since the discovery of the intruder in their home. He had tried to convince Eda of what he saw, but she had brushed him off. He had been so nervous about it, he couldn’t even manage getting in any of his usual naps. And when the imposter witch had returned home, she looked at him in a way that made him feel less like a king and more like prey. Though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he was suddenly terrified for his own well-being. So, when it was time to go to bed, he had decided to hide himself in Eda’s hair to try and sleep. But when he had heard the fake Luz moving around the house after the others had fallen asleep, his fears of being hunted only grew, and he found himself unable to tear his gaze from the door long enough to get any sleep. Even Francois did little to sooth his nerves as he cuddled the bunny doll.

Staying awake in a silent house for so many hours allowed time for King to process what an imposter in the house meant. For him, it meant no longer feeling safe to even sleep ever again. It meant that his family may be in danger. And, much worse of a fact, it meant that their human was missing. 

King rubbed his heavy eyes as he thought about Luz. He wondered just how long his buddy had been missing without anyone knowing. Could the switch have happened during their rescue of Eda? Could Luz actually be somewhere inside the castle? Did Belos actually capture her, and sent this monster in her place? And if that was true, what did that mean for Luz?

Eda groaned, interrupting King’s spiraling fears. King felt Eda stand up slowly, various joints cracking in the process. She ran her hand over her hair, and King gave a cry as he was pushed out of the hair and onto the floor of the nest.

“Wha- King?” Eda frowned, looking down at the demon through squinted eyes. “Why were you in my hair?”

“I was sleeping,” King lied, standing as he dusted himself off.

“Oh,” Eda yawned. “Luz still not letting you in her room, huh?”

“I wouldn’t want to be in the same room as that imposter Luz anyway,” King growled, holding Francois closer.

“Are you still stuck on that nonsense?” Eda complained as she began to walk away, scratching her side lazily. “Luz clearly explained it was a silly illusion, remember?”

“But it wasn’t an illusion!” King whined desperately as he chased after her. “You gotta believe me!” 

“King, look,” Eda paused, looking back at him from the doorway. “I get the whole petrification incident was intense, and we are all a bit on edge about it, but it is no reason to feed into imagined threats. We are all here, we are all safe, and we are all okay. Luz is fine. Okay? Now, let’s go get some breakfast before Luz drinks the last little bit of apple blood.”

Eda disappeared through the door, not waiting to confirm if King was following. King hummed nervously as he looked down at his loyal stuffed animal soldier.

“You believe me, right Francois?” 

As he held it out, the bunny’s head flopped to the side. King sighed as he held it close once again. He then scampered after Eda.

When he caught up at the stairs, King jumped up and climbed onto Eda’s shoulder. Eda didn’t say anything as she made her way down towards the kitchen.

“Come on little owl,” the imposter could be heard from down the hall. “I just wanna hold you! Come here! Come on Owlbert!”

As they entered the room, the fake Luz could be seen on the counter, trying to reach up to the high shelves around the kitchen where Owlbert was once again perched out of the girl’s reach. 

“He still hiding from you?” Eda asked, startling the imposter. “That’s weird.”

The imposter looked over at the two of them. As her eyes landed on King, a moment of tense silence passed between them, which King met with a steady glare. He felt the fur on his scruff starting to raise, a low growl forming.

“King, stop that!” Eda lectured tapping his muzzle.

“Weh!” King complained, dropping himself to the floor. 

The imposter grinned as he rubbed his muzzle. Eda didn’t seem to notice as she already made her way to the fridge, pulling out the apple blood. The fake Luz began to walk out of the kitchen, but hesitated as she got to King. She bent down and pat him with a dark smile.

“See you tonight.”

King knew the casually spoken words were pulling a much darker meaning behind it, and he felt his fur bristle once again. The girl said nothing more as she grabbed her bag.

“You leaving already?” Eda asked, looking back at her.

“Yeah, I’m just going to walk.”

“Alright. Probably best since Owlbert is still acting weird,” Eda waved off. “Don’t die.”

“No promises!”

And with that, the fake Luz exited the house. King stood to his feet and hugged Francois close once again. The stranger was terrifying, but if he was to get back his boo-boo buddy, he would have to figure out where the evil witch put her. And that would require him to go full spy. 

King ran over to the couch and gently placed the doll on the couch in the sitting position. 

“Francois, hold down the fort! Your king has to go save our kingdom from this intruder,” King spoke with authority. 

He gave it a quick pat on the head before scampering out the door. As he exited, he found Lilith sitting just outside in a chair with a mug. She lowered her book as they exchanged glances.

“Where are you heading off to in such a hurry?” Lilith asked suspiciously.

“Uh… no where?” King’s eyes shifted to the side as he tapped his claws together. “To town? Yeah, to town. I gotta… go buy some… socks? Yeah, socks! Definitely doing that and nothing else. And if Eda asks, that is it.”

They stared at each other for a moment.   
“You know what? I don’t want to know,” Lilith groaned as she raised her book back up.

“But I doooooo!” Hooty grinned.

“No one cares!” King cried as he ran off after the imposter.

Once out of sight, King stiffed the air. He caught the scent of the imposter. It was only then that the demon realized that the imposter smelled slightly different. They smelled just like Luz, but with an added smell. A slight metallic scent. Something that put the demon on edge. 

Pushing his fears aside, King followed the trail. 

It took only a couple of minutes to catch up to his target. He did his best to follow quietly from the distance, not wanting to be seen. A few times, he thought he could smell another person’s scent nearby, but he brushed it aside, remaining on task. As the imposter exited the woods, King scurried after her, not wanting to lose sight of her. But before he could, he felt a hand grab his scruff and lift him in the air, causing him to yelp in fear. He struggled to break free, but the hand held strong.

“Calm down,” the voice spoke quiet, yet sternly. “I am trying to help you.”

King stopped struggling as he turned to look at his assailant. A witch stood there, her face covered with a dark red cape and a brown bag hanging from her shoulder. The only distinguishing thing he could note was the purple heart keychain attached to her bag, which looked like a cheap, handmade trinket. King narrowed his eyes at the stranger. 

“Ah yes, because assaulting me is definitely helping me!” King snarled sarcastically. “What do you want?”

“I saw you following that girl,” the lady explained as she gently lowered the demon back to the ground. “I don’t know why you are following her, but I advise that you leave immediately. She is extremely dangerous, and there is no telling what she may do to you if given the chance. If you value your life, you must stay far away from her.”

King felt a shiver pass through him at the ominous warning of the shrouded stranger, “Who is she?”

“It does not matter. All that matters is that you do as I say in this matter,” the woman explained. “I must go now.”

King watched in silence as the stranger turned and began vanish once again into the shadows of the woods. Once again alone, King realized his fur was once again standing upright. He aggressively pat his fur down, trying to regain his nerves. No matter what she said, he had to keep going. If this person was really this dangerous, Luz needed all the help she could get. Mustering up what little bravery he had left, King slowly continued after the imposter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say this time! Just a slightly shorter chapter. Mostly because it wasn't originally going to exist, but I added it in because I felt it was needed. Hope you all enjoy this! And as usual, please feel free to leave a comment!!


	15. The Search Begins

**AMITY POV:**

Amity leaned against one of the banner poles, foot tapping the ground and hands gripping her bag’s strap. Since the revelation of the previous day, Amity had remained impatient and anxious. She had not slept as her brain remained in a constant state of chaotic panic. Without any sleep, and her impatience gnawing at her, she felt her entire mood already ruined before the day had even begun.

It was then that a literal black cloud appeared over her. Her siblings chuckled beside her as she shot them a death glare.

“This is not the time for goofing off,” Amity huffed as she reached up and popped the illusion. 

“You need to relax, Mittens,” Emira crossed her arms with a smile. “CL isn’t even here yet.”

“I don’t care!” Amity snapped, pushing herself away from the pole. “We can’t afford to get distracted. If Luz really is… ya know… then we can’t goof off and risk messing up.”

“Settle down, Mittens,” Edric waved calmly. “We understand the importance.”

“You better,” she huffed. “Now, you sure this will work?”

“Look, the only way someone could pull off impersonating another is if they cast an illusion spell to make them look like the other person,” Edric explained. “As we know, illusions vanish when the caster is asleep or if the illusion is popped. So, if we physically interact with the illusion,-“

“-if there is one-,” Emira interjected.

“-if there is one, it should disappear. Lucky for us, Luz doesn’t mind physical signs of affection, like her human hugs, or head ruffles, or so on. Doing all that, it won’t be hard to disrupt the illusion.”

“I hope you’re right,” Amity mumbled as she fiddled with her cape's clasp. 

“Speak of the devil, there she is!” Emira glanced behind Amity. 

Amity spun around, spotting CL walking onto the campus grounds, her eyes distant as she seemed in her own world. Amity felt resentment rising as memories of yesterday flooded her mind once again. Emira nudged her arm.

“Ready for this?” she asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Amity snarled half-heartedly.

“Hey, Luz! Over here!” Edric shouted, waving a hand in the air.

CL seemed to break from her trance as she spotted the group. She paused in her tracks as she looked over at them in confusion. 

“Come here a sec, cutie!” Emira winked.

Amity swore she noticed CL’s face go a tad red. Her eyes locked onto Amity’s and the blush seemed to fade. Amity narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms once again. A small grin flashed across CL’s face at Amity's reaction before she meandered over to the group.

“What’s up?” CL passed her creepy grin at the twins. 

Emira leaned on CL’s shoulder casually, “Not much, cutie. Amity was just telling us how you burned her during lunch yesterday.”

Amity stiffened. Of all the subjects they could talk about, they had to choose that one?

“Yeah,” Edric smiled, leaning on the other shoulder. “And we thought our diary plot was intense! Kudos to you CL!”

“CL?” CL questioned as she tried to nudge off the twins.

“Yeah! Cutie Luz!” Emira winked as she ruffled the hair.

CL froze, her face growing red again. She looked like she was short circuiting, or having some sort of existential crisis. Despite knowing the fact that this wasn’t likely her Luz, the sight somehow fueled Amity’s frustrations. 

“Hey, CL,” Edric pulled CL in for a side hug, “Look at Amity getting all mad!”

Amity felt her face turning a harsh red with her growing anger. She bared a fang in frustration as her ears lowered. She was ready to murder them all. If they weren’t busy trying to test CL for her, they would already be dead. Emira leaned in towards CL’s face.

“Quite impressive work on getting her so mad,” Emira smiled as she booped CL’s nose.

“Uh… th-thanks?” CL stammered, touching her nose with a confused look. 

“Woah, sweet earrings!” Edric chirped reaching towards them. “Where did you-“

CL’s hand shot up, slapping his hand away. A dark look overtook her features as she glared at Edric. Amity’s ears perked at the sudden shift. Emira and Amity passed a silent look at each other.

“Titan…," CL growled as she pushed Edric away. "Ever heard of personal space?”

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Emira asked, going to tuck back some of CL’s hair behind her ear.

CL grabbed Emira’s wrist, her eyes wild, “Try to touch me again and you lose the hand, _got it?_ ”

CL released Emira’s wrist as her sister withdrew it. Amity stared in shock as both twins tentatively backed a few steps away. CL paused as her eyes widened slightly. She quickly offered a small grin, waving her hands frantically in the air.

“I didn’t really mean that! I'm sorry,” she quickly stammered out. “I just really don’t like people touching me. You understand right? I shouldn’t have lashed out, though. My bad!”

The three of them remained silent, and Amity noticed CL began to fidget in her spot, her hands opening and closing by her sides. Emira was the first to come back to her senses as she offered a smile back.

“Of course, CL,” she spoke, her voice laced heavily with feigned sweetness. “We should have asked if it was making you uncomfortable. You know us. Edric and I often forget about boundaries.”

“Right! Boundaries,” CL pointed a finger at them for emphasis. “I’m glad to hear you understand. Anyway, I better be heading to class. Don’t want to be late. I’ll, uh... see you later?”

“Of course!” Edric smiled, finally recovering. “See you later!”

CL passed one final look at Amity and offered a smile, “See you in class, Amity.”

Amity’s ears went back down as she glared at her once again, “Whatever.”

CL then turned and left, walking quickly towards the school. The twins turned to Amity, their eyes suddenly serious.

“That is _definitely_ not Luz,” Emira announced. 

“She threatened to cut off your hand!” Edric panicked, throwing his hands up in emphasis. “Of course that isn’t her!”

“Did you see how she got defensive whenever we went near her ears?” Emira pointed out. “That’s got to be some part of the illusion.”

“So, we all agree that CL most likely isn’t Luz,” Edric frowned, rubbing his neck. “Now I have so many questions! If she isn’t Luz, who is CL? What does she want? And where did she come from?”

“And where is Luz?” Amity asked a tad softer.

A silence hung over the group as the question seeped in. Amity felt all her previous anger quickly shift into anxiety. She turned out to be right after all. Luz was missing. Luz Noceda, the most important person in all the Boiling Isles to Amity, was officially _lost_.

“Amity?” Emira asked softly. “You okay?”

“No,” Amity snapped. “Of course not! We just discovered that Luz…”

Amity clenched her fists, unable to finish the sentence as tears began to form. The siblings watched her carefully. Amity shook her head.

“No one even noticed. It’s been at least two days since the switch likely happened. Two whole days of Luz being who knows where! She may be being held prisoner. She may be hurt. She may even be… she may have been…”

Amity trailed off as she held her arms. The worst case scenario flooded her mind, causing her breathing to become unsteady. She had let her guard down at that fair, despite knowing it was likely a trap. She had allowed Luz to vanish right from under everyone’s noses. If it turned out Luz was dead because of her negligence, she would never be able to forgive herself. If Luz was dead-

Two hands landed on her shoulders, causing her to look up. Edric looked down at her with a stern determination that she had never seen from him before.

“Listen, Amity,” he spoke in a foreign authoritative tone. “This is Luz we are talking about. We have seen that girl launch a full-grown slitherbeast in the air like it was a grudgby ball. She fought and survived an encounter with _the emperor_ of the Boiling Isles! She has survived one crazy thing after another and has always come out just fine, despite having no natural magic. That girl is practically indestructible. I’m sure she is just fine wherever she is. And now that we know she is missing, we will be able to find her and bring her home alive and well. She is a resourceful human. She will be just fine until we get to her. And in the mean time, we will do what we can on our side. Okay?”

Amity swallowed, pushing down her terror as she gave a small nod. Edric nodded before letting her shoulders go.

Emira sighed, “The first thing we need to figure out is how to find Luz. We can’t confront CL without knowing that Luz is out of danger.”

“Where do we even start?” Edric rubbed his neck. 

“I don’t know. Of all the types of magic there are, I don’t think illusion or abomination magic will be much help in locating someone,” Emira hummed, tapping her foot.

That is when Amity noticed a familiar pink witch strutting towards the school doors, surrounded by her usual crowd. Amity’s brows furrowed as an idea formed.

“Maybe not,” Amity spoke up. “But what about potions?”

“Maybe,” Emira nodded. “There may be a chance that one is designed to help with tracking someone down. But none of us practice that magic.”

“No, but I know someone who does,” Amity explained with a tired sigh. “I just hope she will be willing to help.”

“Wait, you talking about Bosha?” Edric grimaced. “Didn’t you two have a falling out or something?”

“Yeah…,” Amity said as she unclipped her cape. “However, she is our best option right now. But in case Bosha isn’t willing to help, I suggest you guys try to look for someone in the potion track as well. Or perhaps find someone in the oracle track.”

“Sure thing, Mittens,” Edric nodded. “We’ll see what we can dig up.”

Amity finished folding up her cape and slipped it into her bag, which she brought along for the sole purpose of carrying the cape with her throughout the day.

“Oh, and guys?” Amity looked up awkwardly to her siblings. “I just.. I want to say… thanks. Ya know, for believing me and helping and all that.”

“Of course!” Edric grinned. 

“Luz is our friend, too,” Emira added. “If there is a chance she is in danger, we will do what we can to help.”

Amity felt a tiny smile form. As annoying as the twins could be, at that moment she felt lucky to have them as her siblings. She bid them goodbye as she headed towards her former friend. 

Skara saw her first and nudged Bosha. Bosha turned and finally noticed Amity approaching. She stood with her arms crossed, turning up her nose as her three eyes glared down at Amity.

“Well, well, well. Look what the slitherbeast dragged in,” Bosha mocked. “What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you,” Amity said, ignoring the witch’s tone. “Alone.”

“Why would I want to talk to-“

“ _Now_ ,” Amity spoke forcefully. 

Bosha faltered. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Fine. But only because I am curious of what stupid thing you could possibly have to talk about.”

“Sure, fine, works for me,” Amity shrugged impatiently. "Just come over here for a second."

She lead the two of them a little ways away from the other students, trying to get out of reach of anyone that may try to listen in. As they got out of earshot, Bosha spoke up.

“Alright, what do you want already?” Bosha sighed, looking at her nails to seem disinterested.

“Look, I know we aren’t on good terms right now,” Amity admitted, holding the strap of her bag, “but I need your help.”

“And why would I help you?” Bosha sneered.

“Because there is a good chance that someone’s life is on the line,” Amity clenched the strap tighter. “Someone is missing. Someone… very important. And there is a good chance they are in some serious danger. I need to know where they are before it is too late. I need to know if there is a potion that could help me track them down. You are the top student of the potions track, after all. So, if anyone would know of such a potion, it would be you.”

Bosha’s eyes lifted from her pedicured nails to pass Amity a questioning look, “Hmmm, I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like there is much of a payout for me in this. After all, you threw yourself to the bottom of the totem poll. If it got out that I was doing things for you…? Well, lets just say I don’t have any desire to follow your footsteps into the social pits. So, how are you going to make it worth while?”

Amity bared her teeth, “You know what? Never mind. It was ridiculous of me to assume you had some small bit of decency in that big head of yours, some sort of compassion for someone other than yourself. If you want to be an ass about this, I’ll find another way.”

Amity shoved past Bosha, not even attempting to cover her frustration. 

“Wait!”

Amity stopped at Bosha’s call. She looked back at her, glaring at her. Bosha frowned as she crossed her arms. She let out a dramatic groan as she looked off to the side. 

“I suppose I can… I don’t know- help I guess?” Bosha mumbled, still avoiding Amity’s gaze. “I mean, I haven’t ever heard of a tracker potion. However, I suppose I _maaaay_ have a potion that could allow you to communicate with whoever you are worried about.”

“Really?” Amity questioned.

Before Bosha could answer, the school bells could be heard providing a chorus of screams.

“Look, meet me during the next passing period in the potions lab classroom,” Bosha ordered as she walked off. “We will talk more then.”

Amity watched silently as Bosha rejoined her posse and vanished past the school’s large doors. Amity pushed down the desire to force Bosha to finish her explanation. Instead, Amity rested a hand over the bag, thinking of the cape within and allowing herself to gather up her newfound determination. By next period, she would have answers, and that’s what mattered. So, ignoring her desire to keep working on the search, Amity began her trek to first period.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be a longer chapter, but it was getting to the point I felt it should be split into two parts. As always, feel free to comment! I love hearing from you, whether it be your theories or just saying you are enjoying it! All you commenters are what keep me motivated!


	16. Upperclassmen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure what to label this title, tbh, so yeah lol! Anyway, ENJOY!

**EMIRA POV:**

Emira and Edric both sat silently within an empty classroom. Without even having to say a word, it was clear they collectively agreed to skip first period, and had soon found themselves in one of the few hiding spots they knew of. Since the moment Amity had walked away, neither one had spoken, and for the first several minutes upon their arrival of the abandoned detention track classroom, the silence had remained. If they were around others, the need to cover up their emotions with goofy antics would usually form. However, whenever they snuck off on their own, it provided the two of them to shed the pressure to act collected and carefree. It allowed them to take their fake faces off and just be themselves, whether that be planning another future prank or just sitting in a daze like they currently were. And now, though they were alone, the quiet between them was tense with unspoken concerns based around CL. 

Edric was the first to break the tense quiet as he let out an exaggerated groan, flopping down on his back upon the teachers desk.

“So… what are we thinking?” Edric mumbled, turning his head towards Emira.

Emira slouched lower in the teacher’s chair, rolling a piece of chalk back and forth on the desk in front of her. She furrowed her eyebrows as she hyper focused on the chalk. She could see Edric watching her, waiting for a response. Emira sighed as she shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she clicked her tongue. “There is still a lot in the air to know really anything at this point in time.”

“Like if Luz is actually okay?” 

Emira nodded, glancing up at her twin.

“Among other things, yeah,” she said, leaning her chin on her free hand. “Not that we can discuss that concern with Mittens.”

Edric hummed thoughtfully as he looked up at the ceiling. Emira looked back down at the rolling chalk. 

“What if she isn’t okay?” Edric asked aloud the question they were both fearing.

Emira stopped rolling the chalk, gripping it in her hand. She bit her lip with her fang.

“I guess we do our best to be there for Mittens,” Emira tapped the chalk on the desk. “Especially since she seems super attached to Luz.”

“I suppose so,” Edric agreed with a forlorn expression. “It won’t be easy though… Mittens is super attached to Luz already. I mean, Luz means a lot to us, but nowhere near the level of how much she means to Mittens. I don’t want to know what Amity will do if she lost Luz for good.”

Emira watched him grab a nearby eraser and begin tossing and catching it repeatedly. Emira frowned as she looked down at her chalk. She pushed it into the desk hard as she mindlessly drew a straight line. As she got further, her pressure increased, until suddenly the chalk gave a loud snap and broke into two.

Emira stared at the chalk, her chest tightening at the sight.

“Well then, we need to keep that from happening,” Emira decided, dropping the shattered chalk. “Until we find Luz, we don’t even allow the worse case scenario to be a possible outcome to Amity.”

“Besides,” Edric perked up, sitting upright, “there is a chance CL is still Luz, but cursed or something, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Emira shook her head. “Not with the way she got so aggressive over us getting close to her ears. That seems like a reaction to protecting an illusion.”

“But how would that be the only part of the illusion?” Edric asked biting the eraser gently between his fangs. “There is no way CL could look so much like Luz that the only part of the illusion would be the ears, would it?”

“I don’t know,” Emira huffed in frustration. “But it’s the best theory we got right now.”

“Alrighty then. So, lets think back on Mitten’s idea. Who can we ask to help us in this that is good with potions or oracle magic?”

“I’m stumped there,” Emira admitted as she wiped the chalk-covered hand clean onto her leggings.

“Well, what about Viney?” Edric suggested.

Emira blushed at the thought of their classmate. She shook her head.

“No good,” she explained. “Viney practices beast keeping and healing.”

“But what about her friend? The canine witch? Doesn’t he practice both potions and oracle magic?”

“I’m not friends with him.”

“But you can ask Viney to ask for you.”

“Edric, there is no way that would work. I’m not that close with her,” Emira blushed.

“Oh, come on,” Edric rolled his eyes with a grin. “I see you flirt with her on a constant basis!”

“And she ignores me every time I try,” Emira reminded. “She often times won’t even look me in the eyes when I try to flirt.”

“I don’t think it’s because she dislikes you,” Edric chuckled. “Not with the shade of red she turns whenever you flirt.”

“Look, I wish that was true, but I seriously don’t think-“

Emira was cut short as something smacked into her head, causing her to fall out of her chair and onto the floor. 

“Oh! Sorry, Emira!”

Emira rubbed her head as she looked up. Her ears lowered as she noticed Viney hanging out of a hidden door in the chalkboard. She looked down at Emira with a concerned look.

“You okay?” Viney asked. “Didn’t mean to hit you with the door.”

Emira collected herself and smiled, “You can hit on me whenever you want.”

Viney’s concerned look vanished, turning into an unamused look, though her face turned slightly pink. She turned to Edric with a serious look, causing Emira to feel a crushing wave of rejection to her most recent flirtation.

“Hey, Edric,” she waved as she leaned casually against the door’s side.

“Hey, Viney!” Edric gave a cheeky grin.

“I was wondering if you could help me out,” Viney asked, still avoiding Emira’s gaze.

“Us!” Jerbo shouted from somewhere behind her. “Help _us_ out!”

“Help _us_ out,” Viney corrected. 

“Anything for you,” Emira winked.

Viney’s ears went down as she locked eyes with Emira again. 

“Right. Well… good,” Viney stumbled awkwardly over her words.

Viney twirled her finger in the air, summoning a scroll. She floated it over to Emira.

“Some of us pitched in and got a scroll for Luz since she doesn’t have one. We are trying to get the contact info of some of her other friends put in before we give it to her,” Viney explained, resting her head on her hand. “I know Luz has mentioned you two and your little sister. So, could you install all three of your contacts inside for her?”

“Of course!” Edric agreed, leaning back. 

Emira quickly added Amity’s contact and her own before floating it over to her brother so he could put his own in. Edric hesitated as he looked down, then gave a hurt look over to Emira.

“Did you really label your contact ‘The Better Twin’ in here?” Edric gasped, holding his chest.

“Just making it easy for Luz to know who she is contacting!” 

“Cold, sis. Simply cold,” Edric pouted playfully as he put in his own contact. A grin spread across his face, “I can’t wait until Mittens finds out what you put her name under.”

“What did she put?” Viney asked.

“Three heart emojis, the nickname Mittens, and then another three heart emojis,” Emira beamed proudly as he returned the scroll.

“And why would you do that?” Viney asked with a snort.

“Oh! You don’t know, do you?” Emira perked up, giving a sly look. “Mittens and Luz are both crushing hard on each other, though I don’t think Luz hasn’t figured it out yet. We have been pushing Mittens to make a move, but it is slow going.”

Viney’s ears lowered as she passed a confused look, “Are you sure about that? We didn’t see it, but we heard Luz shut Amity down on the romantic front.”

Emira tensed up as she was abruptly brought back to their current dilemma. She passed a look over to her brother, who looked just as whiplashed as her. Viney passed an odd look between the both of them.

“I’m sorry, did you not know about that?” Viney asked tentatively. “I don’t know all the details, but that’s just what we heard.”

“No, we know,” Emira admitted. “We were around when it happened. But-… It is hard to explain. Especially since there is a lot we are still trying to figure out.”

“… Okay,” Viney passed a questioning look. “So, should we take Amity’s number out then?”

“No!” Edric waved his hand frantically. “Trust me, Luz will want that number in there later.”

“Right...,” Viney tapped her finger on the edge of the little window. “Well, I guess I will leave it in then. I’ll see you around?”

A nudge from Edric's foot caused her brain to jumpstart. She leapt to her feet quickly.

“Wait!”

Viney paused just before she closed the door. She passed a confused look towards Emira, who blushed slightly from the green gaze.

“Ah, I actually was wanting to ask if your friend that is in the potion and oracle tracks is with you,” Emira chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Barcus? Yeah, he is here with me.” Emira looked back over her shoulder, “Yo, Barcus! Come here a sec!”

A second later, paws rested on her shoulders and the canine witch rested his chin on Viney’s head.

“What’s up?” Viney asked.

“I, uh, know it is an odd request, but can you come up with some way to see where someone is currently?” 

The canine patted his paw on his chin thoughtfully before nodding.

“ _Bark!_ ” the witch said before vanishing somewhere in the hideaway.

“Huh?” Edric tilted his head.

“Right! Sorry, I forgot you don’t speak his language,” Viney blinked. “He said he knows a way.”

“You got all that from a single bark?” Edric frowned.

“Their language thrives on the idea that less is more!” Jerbo said, trying to push his way into view. “It is both complex and simple in its language and-“

“Oh, this door is too small for this!” Viney grunted, shoving Jerbo back. 

“Rude!” Jerbo huffed from behind her.

“Anyway,” Viney leaned back to the twins with a smile. “Come on into our office.”

Viney disappeared from the doorway, and the twins passed each other a look. A mischievous grin crossed both of their faces, not even having to say what they were both thinking. They had been wanting to explore the hideaway for ages now. They had already discussed so many prank ideas they could attempt if they ever figured out the secret to getting in, but never did. The two rushed to the entrance and climbed into the tiny door.

As they walked further in, they both gasped in awe. Doors to so many pranking opportunities surrounded them in every angle as the three others sat in the middle. Barcus was already throwing in ingredients and stirring a cauldron as the twins took in the sight. 

“Pretty neat, right?” Viney grinned as they approached. 

“This is amazing!” Emira smiled.

“I-… I may cry at its beauty!” Edric sniffled, wiping away some fake tear. “Can we-“

“No, you may not use it for your pranking,” Viney crossed her arms, glaring at the brother. “There is a reason I didn’t let you two get access to this.”

“Awww,” Edric slumped his shoulders.

“ _Bark!_ ” 

“Potion is ready!” Jerbo chirped in excitement beside Barcus. “He just needs to know who to conjure the image of.”

“Luz,” Emira answered.

The three friends stared at her in confusion.

“Luz? But we know where she is,” Viney frowned. “She is in class.”

“Just- trust me on this?” Emira asked, looking at Viney. “We can’t really explain why we need this, not yet at least. But if this goes how we expect, I’ll explain.”

Viney stood wide-eyed as Emira looked at her with a serious and worried gaze. Viney gave a small nod.

“Alright. I trust you,” Viney agreed. “As long as this isn’t for some prank-“

“It’s not,” Emira shook her head.

“Okay then. Go for it, Barcus,” Viney nodded. “Let’s look at Luz.”

Barcus nodded. He gave a few barks as he held up an orb before dropping it into the potion. The group huddled around the potion as the image began to form. It started to form an image of Luz in a classroom, but the image began to distort quickly. Other flashes of images tickled at the edges of the water ripples, making it hard to discern any set image.

“What is wrong with it?” Jerbo asked.

“ _Ruff…_ ”

“He said it’s like two images are fighting for the surface. He can’t make one out over the other because of it.”

“Did he mess up the potion?” Edric asked.

“No,” Jerbo shook his head. “Something must be messing with the spell or something.”

“ _Bark._ ”

“He said he hasn’t seen anything like this happen before. Ever.”

Emira crossed her arms as she stared at the disrupted images. Her finger tapped her arm as her eyes furrowed. Viney placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” Viney asked gently. “You look serious, which is _not_ something I see from you often.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Emira hummed, ignoring the blush beginning to form from the touch. “Just… it definitely didn’t answer any of our questions…”

“You know something, don’t you? Mind telling us what is going on?” Viney pushed.

A loud scream of a bell could be heard, causing the whole group to jump. Emira took that moment to collect herself, putting back on her silly smile.

“I can’t really talk about it yet, but I will tell you at a later time, okay?” she explained as she turned and started her leave. “For now, Edric and I should be getting to class! Thanks for the attempt, though!”

“But-“

“Oh, and by the way?” Emira turned around. “You can save my contact in your scroll as well. In case you ever wanna, ya know, chat or whatever. See ya, beautiful!”

She gave a small wink to the witch, earning a slightly reddened face. Emira turned and left with her brother, her heart giving a light flutter of excitement at the successful flirtation. The morning may not be a complete waste after all.

As they walked on to their next class, Edric shoved his hands into his pockets, “Now what?”

“I was thinking once she calls, I will ask her on a proper date,” Emira explained.

“That’s great and all, but I meant about Luz.” 

“Oh, that,” Emira sank a bit as they walked. She gave a small sigh, “I guess we just have to hope that Amity had better luck on her end.”

"Why didn't you tell them about our suspicions?" Edric asked.

Emira bit her lip with her fang, "I wanted to. However, telling people about this so early on could be a big risk for Luz if she is in danger. The more people who know about it, the more likely CL may catch on that we are onto her. If that happens, that may be extremely bad. As much as I hate it, for now, we should keep it between us."

"Understood."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANOTHER PERSON MADE FANART FOR THE STORY ON INSTAGRAM AAAAAH!!!  
> GO CHECK IT OUT!! It is Ah-mazing!  
> https://www.instagram.com/p/CJEROuVp3Q1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
> 
> As a thank you for this amazing show of love for this story, I'm going to do everything I can to try and post a second chapter this week for y'all! Thanks for all the love you give me that keeps me motivated! As always, please feel free to leave comments, as I love hearing from everyone!


	17. The Power of Potions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry (slightly late) Christmas!!! 
> 
> Enjoy the second chapter of the week! As a thank you for the newest fanart that I mentioned last chapter (plus all the wonderful comments you have all been posting), I present to you this chapter early! 
> 
> As always, I love hearing from you in the comments! Feel free to write your thoughts and/or theories you may have going forward!

**AMITY POV:**

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

“Amity Blight!”

Amity jumped in her seat, staring at the teacher, “Y-yes sir?”

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

“Your pencil,” he narrowed his eyes.

_Tap._

Amity looked down at her hands, realizing she had been tapping her pencil excessively on the desk. She blushed as she placed the pencil down gently.

“Sorry, sir,” she apologized. 

“Thank you,” he nodded. “As I was saying-“

Amity’s mind once again drifted off. She had planned to at least attempt to focus on class when she first entered the room, but from the moment the class bell had rung to start the day, she knew it would be pointless. Her mind was too focused on the much more urgent matter of Luz and CL. And now, knowing that she may finally get some actual answers once the next bell would sound, she couldn’t help but stare at the clock on the wall. It practically mocked her as its hands ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace. As she tapped a finger on her knee, she swore that the clock was purposefully going slower just to torture her.

“Come on, stupid clock,” Amity mumbled quietly.

The moment the end of class bell sounded, Amity snatched up her bag and ran out of the classroom. She made a beeline towards the potions lab, which she knew the location of by heart after meeting up with Bosha there occasionally back when they were friends. She weaved through the crowd of the hallway, not paying mind to who she barreled through along the way. As she reached the classroom, she noticed the last few students were just leaving. 

Amity slowed her pace as she entered the classroom. Bosha seemed to be the last one inside the room, leaning lazily on the table. As Bosha noticed her, her ears went down. Amity clenched her jaw as she walked over to the desk.

“Alright, Bosha,” Amity said as she crossed her arms. “You said you had a way to help me?”

Bosha didn’t say anything back as she pulled out a small cauldron from under her desk. A spoon was magically twirling it on its own. Amity’s curiosity got to her as she leaned forward to observe its contents. The purple potion emanated a soft purple glow as it remained at a low boil inside. 

“What is it?” Amity asked, glancing back up to Bosha.

Bosha gave a disinterested shrug as she crossed her arms, “A potion I may or may not have found in the banned practices section of the library archives a while back. I went ahead and whipped up a batch during class today while the teacher was distracted.”

“This is a banned potion?” Amity’s eyes widened slightly. 

“Yeah, so keep it on the down low, got it?” Bosha pointed at her aggressively. “I’m already putting my reputation on the line helping you out. I don’t need to deal with getting in trouble because you rat me out.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” Amity rolled her eyes. “But why is it banned? What does it do?”

Bosha leaned back in her chair a bit, “If you drink it, then it helps you connect with a specific person through their dreams. It’s a dream-walker potion, and it lasts until either you or the other person wakes up. It isn’t a tracking potion like you asked for, but it should provide you with time to talk to whoever you are trying to find, and maybe get some information that could help.”

“That… could actually work!” Amity’s ears perked up. “And you said it is finished?”

“We just need one more ingredient. We need something tied to the person the potion is supposed to connect to,” Bosha explained.

Amity felt her stomach drop. She bit the inside of her cheek as she slowly reached into her bag and drew out her cape. She presented it with a small sigh to the pink witch.

“What about this? It was her cape before I got it.”

Bosha observed the fabric and frowned, “Unless they created it themselves, then no. Objects can pass between several people, and so that type of connection is not enough for the potion to latch on. However, it can easily connect to the person who made it. That's because it is a specific and powerful bond of creation with the object and not just ownership.”

“But this is all I have of hers,” Amity looked down at the cape.

“Look, I don’t make the rules, I just follow the recipe,” Bosha huffed. “So, you better figure it out or else you are screwed.”

“Alright, alright,” Amity growled towards her ex-friend. “Just give me a second to think.”

“We don’t have forever,” Bosha pushed. “Especially you, Miss Perfect Attendance.”

Amity ignored her as she mentally retraced all her time with Luz, searching for some item Luz had made for her. She perked up as she placed the cape back in the bag and then snatched her diary from within. Ever since her siblings had found it and nearly embarrassed her publicly with it, Amity had always kept it close by to keep an eye on it.

Amity frantically flipped through the pages, coming to a halt as she spotted her target. There, filling up one of her pages, was Luz’s drawing of her as Azura that she made during the library incident. She passed another look up at Bosha.

“What about a drawing they made?”

“That works,” Bosha nodded.

Amity went to tear out the page, but as she pulled on it, causing the paper to grow taut, she hesitated. She had kept Luz’s drawing in there for a reason. It had become special to her, a little spot of adorable art that the human had made just to help rescue her, even if the attempt had been in vein in the end. If she put it in the potion, that souvenir of their adventure together would be lost forever.

Her heart ached as she forced herself to rip the page out. Finding Luz was more important than some doodle. And if it helped locate her, it would be worth whatever sorrow came with losing the drawing. She folded it into a square and threw it into the potion. A puff of smoke burst from the top before it settled. Bosha stirred for a moment longer before pulling out four empty vials. She carefully poured the potion into the vials before corking them and handing them over.

“There. Take them. One vial is enough for one attempt.”

“Will I need more than one attempt?” Amity asked as she took them gingerly. 

“Well, there are two ways that an attempt won’t work, so yeah,” Bosha explained, leaning back again. “One is if they are awake, obviously, because they aren’t dreaming.”

“And the other?” Amity asked tentatively. 

“Well, they can't dream if they aren't alive.”

Amity tensed up at the idea. She looked down at her newly acquired potions, nerves picking back up.

“Oh, and there is one warning I suppose you should know,” Bosha yawned as she stood up from her seat. “It says you should avoid using it if someone is dying. If the dreamer dies while you are in their dream, you die as well. So, just don’t be stupid with it.”

Amity nodded. Anxiety was prickling at her spine as she stared at the potions. She placed all but one within her bag. Without a second thought, Amity uncorked it and gulped it down. She paused, waiting for something to happen. 

Nothing.

Amity felt her stomach twist. The attempt had failed. This meant that Luz was either awake, or she could possibly already be dead. Amity clenched the vial tight, brows furrowing. Bosha watched her for a moment before looking off to the side awkwardly.

“Look, I’m sure whoever you are searching for is fine,” Bosha explained, seeming to realize Amity’s thoughts. “After all, it is daytime. You thinking they would be asleep is absolutely ridiculous.”

Amity gave a small nod, but her nerves remained.

“Anyway,” Bosha waved off as she grabbed her stuff and began to walk away, “we are done. If anyone asks, this never happened, got it?”

“Wait, Bosha?”

Bosha stopped and glanced back at Amity.

“If this was such a risk to help me out,” Amity asked, “why did you decide to help? We aren’t friends anymore, so there was no obligation on your end.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t the one who decided to end the friendship in the first place. You were the one who left, not me,” Bosha’s ears went down as she looked away. “I know that our parents forced us to be friends for status reasons, but we both bonded over that sort of stupid parent crap. It hurt when you threw that away, as if our years of friendship meant nothing compared to your new nerdy friends. I suppose, as much as I resent you for just throwing all that away for your pathetic posse, I don’t necessarily want you to _suffer_ , so to speak. Besides, you will get plenty of that when your parents discover what you have been doing to your social status.”

Amity looked at the ground, guilt hitting her like a brick. She hadn’t even thought about how everything had looked to Bosha, who had no idea of Amity’s past with Willow, or her crush on Luz, or the promises she had made to her previous friend. All that her ex-friend saw was Amity suddenly ditch her out of nowhere to run off with a new group.

“I’m sorry,” Amity rubbed her neck. “I guess I didn’t even realize…”

“Whatever,” Bosha shrugged, turning her back to Amity once again. “Like I said, you can damage your social life all you want, but don’t you dare take me down with you. I have a reputation to uphold as well, you know. Best of luck with whatever it is you are in the middle of, but I’ve done my part and I’m washing my hands clean of you now.”

“I understand. Sorry… and thank you,” Amity spoke softly.

Bosha stood silent for a moment before simply walking out of the classroom in silence.

Amity sighed as she looked down at the empty vial in her hand. She could figure out a way to deal with the issues between Bosha and herself later. For now, she had to prepare for her next class. She shivered as she remembered the specific creepy classmate that would be sitting beside her. 

A bell rang, signifying that passing period was almost over. Amity stuck her vial and diary back into the bag before booking it to her next period.


	18. Trouble Among the Troublemakers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience. If you follow my Instagram (which you should in case of any announcements about this story are made), you would have seen in my story that I took a break last week from posting due to my dog of 15 years being put down. I took that time to focus on her and spoil her before we put her down, and then taking time to grieve after. I am now back in action and writing once again.
> 
> Also, I reached 300 followers recently on Instagram. I asked my followers how they would like me to celebrate this achievement, and the voting results ended as most wanting an extra chapter posted this week on here. So I will be posting a second one soon!
> 
> This chapter is a bit shorter and slightly clunky, I know. But I promise, the next chapter... it will hopefully make up for it, as it was a chapter I have had written for over a month! :)

**VINEY POV:**

Viney closed the door to the secret hideaway behind her. Barcus and Jerbo had exited through different doors to get to their next class. With having ducked out early of the first class for their mission of gathering contacts for Luz’s phone, the other two wanted to make sure they were on time for the next class. They had originally planned on joining her on giving the gift at this time, but the unexpected request of Edric and Emira had caused the three friends to waste a good amount of their passing period discussing what had happened and what the potion oracle meant (as well as some mocking of Viney’s inability to handle Emira’s flirtatious behaviors). After that, they felt they needed to get to class, but they had given Viney permission to go ahead and give the gift to Luz. So, having exited the hideaway into the hallway, Viney scanned the wave of people passing by, trying to find the underclassman.

She found her target not far from her, gathering books out of a locker. Viney weaved through the crowd and approached the human, who seemed lost in her own thoughts. 

“Hey, Luz!” Viney greeted.

Luz suddenly yelped as she startled and stumbled forward, falling slightly into the locker’s mouth. The locker suddenly closed it’s mouth around her, looking proud as Luz’s legs flailed about. Viney cringed in guilt as she reached forward. She tickled the locker, which began to chuckle, but gave her a glare of stubbornness as it kept it’s mouth shut. Viney raised a brow at it. She began to tickle it with both hands until it burst out into a laughing fit, causing Luz to fly out of it’s jaws and onto the floor in a stunned daze. Her top half was slightly damp from being in the mouth, and her hair was sticking up in a messy-looking mohawk. Viney tried to conceal a snort of laughter as she offered a hand.

“Sorry, Luz,” Viney apologized, helping her to her feet. “I didn’t mean to scare ya.”

“What, me? Scared? Psssh- I wasn’t scared,” Luz chuckled awkwardly, rubbing her neck. “I just slipped is all!”

“Right, of course. My mistake,” Viney grinned, crossing her arms. “Anyway, you good?”

“I’m fine,” Luz a said as she fixed her hair. “What did you need?”

“I came to give you something. Close your eyes and put out you hands.”

Luz glanced up at her with a suspicious look. Viney gave a nod, urging her to do as she was told. Luz gave a small frown, but complied. Viney summoned the scroll and placed it in the human’s hands. 

“Alright,” she said. “You can look.”

Luz’s eyes opened as she looked at her hands in confusion, “A scroll?”

“More specifically, _your_ scroll,” Viney puffed her chest out slightly. “A gift from your fellow detention track classmates.”

“Wait, you bought me a scroll?” Luz looked up at her with wide eyes. “Why?”

“Well, you told us at the fair you only have your human scroll, which doesn’t work here,” Viney explained. “So the three of us pitched in to get you your own certified Boiling Isles scroll so you can be more connected with everyone. We even went around and got the contacts put in for everyone we knew you were friends with. I don’t know if we got everyone in there, but you should have a good amount in there as a start.”

“But… _why?_ ” Luz repeated.

Viney’s ear twitched in confusion, “Well, so we can actually plan hangouts better, ya know? Hard to hang out with our favorite human if we can’t get ahold of you in the first place!”

The gears were clearly turning in Luz’s mind as her eyes flickered back down at the scroll. A small smile crept on her face for a moment. 

“Thanks, Viney,” Luz passed a smile back upwards.

Viney noticed the tears sitting in the girl’s eyes. 

“Hey, you don’t need to cry,” Viney gave a gentle smile as she nudged Luz’s shoulder. “It’s mostly for selfish reasons we got you that.”

“I’m not crying,” Luz protested as she looked away quickly, but held the scroll a bit tighter. “I just can’t believe you guys would buy me a gift... So, thank you.”

“Glad you like it,” Viney patted the girl’s head. “I’ll let the others know as well.”

Luz gave a sad looking smile down at the scroll. Viney didn’t know why the girl to look almost depressed about the gift. She had half expected the girl to be nearly bouncing off the walls in excitement, not this mixed up response of both joy and sadness. Before she could say anything, a class warning bell sounded overhead. 

“Alright, well, I gotta get heading towards class,” Viney said as she placed her hands on her hips. “But make sure to shoot me a message sometime soon so we can plan a hangout, okay?”

Luz gave a quiet nod as she kept her eyes on the gift. Viney hesitated once again, feeling concerned over the behavior.

“Will you look at that!” Bosha’s voice sounded from behind her.

Viney rolled her eyes as she looked back to see the overly cocky underclassman walking by with Skara. 

“Do you see that, Skara?” Bosha gave a vicious grin. “Two future wild witches. Take a good look, because these two will be nothing but statues in the future.”

Viney narrowed her eyes. Sometimes, the desire to knock that wanna-be down a few pegs was a difficult urge to deny. 

“Ignore her, Luz,” Viney scowled. “She isn’t-“

She was cut short as Luz suddenly shot forward, grabbing Bosha by the cowl and thrusting her against a locker. She withdrew a small glyph from her pocket before the bully could process the action. Everyone grew stiff as a small flame formed from the glyph.

“You wanna say it again?” Luz growled. 

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Skara cried, but took a nervous step back.

“The heck is wrong with you!?” Bosha panicked, clearly thrown off.

“You are,” Luz snapped. “You think you are so tough? News flash! You’re not. People like you deserve nothing but the same pain you inflict on others. So, if you ever try and threaten my friend again, I will make sure you burn like the trash you are! Do you understand?”

“Luz! Stop!” Viney finally came back from her shock. 

She placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder, causing the girl to grow stiff. Viney’s eyes widened a bit at the dark look held inside the eyes of Luz as she kept her eyes locked with the pink witch.

“Luz, she isn’t worth it,” Viney spoke softly. “Let her go.”

Luz looked over at Viney with a confused look.

“But she-“

“I know,” Viney held her gaze, cutting the human off. “But you need to let her go. Okay?”

Luz passed one final glare at Bosha before putting out the glyph fire. Bosha pushed herself away and ran, but not without yelling with a wavering voice about Luz being a psycho. Luz watched her run for a moment before turning back to Viney with an off-putting, lopsided grin.

“Did you see the look on her face! She was like- ‘AAAH!’” Luz mimicked dramatically with her usual energy. “It was hilarious! She should know better than to mess with us ever again! I did pretty good, didn’t I?”

Viney noticed Luz looking up at her with a hopeful look, clearly waiting for some sort of affirmation. However, Viney only felt fear gripping her chest. What was going on with Luz today? One moment she is acting distant and depressed, the next she is laughing at the terror she caused someone.

Her mind went back the twin’s concerning attempt to locate Luz. Was this weird behavior of Luz somehow linked to their odd request? Whatever was happening, she could tell something was clearly wrong.

“Well, you did scare her, that’s for sure,” Viney finally spoke, choosing her words carefully. “But next time, instead of threatening her with fire, let’s just ignore her, alright?”

“I guess so. But I doubt she will after that, am I right?” Luz nudged Viney’s arm. “Anyway, I got to get to class. See you around.”

“Yeah… see ya,” Viney forced a smile and waved as the girl took off down the hall.

**AMITY POV:**

Amity sat in class, stiff as a board. She dared to glance back over to CL once again. CL sat in a slumped over position in her chair. Her hands clenched a closed scroll upon the table, and her eyes watched it with an intensity she was not used to. The thumb seemed to trail up and down the parchment slowly in a mindless manner. 

She had half expected the imposter to spend the class messing with her, teasing her for her feelings towards her, or rather towards Luz. Or maybe even to say something cruel just to get under her skin. And yet, CL simply sat completely silent, transfixed by the scroll. 

She decided not to question it as she turned back to the teacher. She was just glad she didn’t have to deal with the cruel antics.

Amity reached in her bag, reaffirming via touch that the vials were still safely inside. As she did, the fabric of the cape brushed her hand, and she closed her eyes to take in the feeling of the wool. Whatever had CL so upset, it didn’t matter, because soon enough they would be getting Luz back, and then CL had much more urgent things to worry about. Because once Amity found Luz, she was going to personally make CL pay for taking Luz away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Your CL may include mood swings, violent tendencies, and a dark sense of humor.
> 
> Enjoy! And as always, feel free to comment!!


	19. Dreams and Nightmares

**AMITY POV:**

Amity stared at the lunchroom down the hall, which the whole school was quickly filing inside of for lunch period. She watched as CL walked in, as casual as ever. Amity bared her teeth in frustration as she altered her path away from the cafeteria. She wasn’t feeling hungry anyway. Instead, she walked quickly over to the nearest bathroom, hand gripping her bag protectively. As she pushed past the doors, she swung herself into the nearest stall and bolted it. 

She allowed herself time to take a few steady breaths. She then slowly reached into her bag and pulled out another vial. She slid the bag off her shoulders and rested it down by her feet. Amity sat down on the toilet, staring at the glowing purple potion in her hands. She knew that the likelihood of Luz being asleep in the daytime was low, but she was so stressed over her first attempt failing that she had to try again. Her mind continued to focus on her fear that the potion would never work because there was no one left to enter the dreams of. It was making her more and more desperate, needing any sort of proof that Luz was still alive. So, letting out a slow breath, she uncorked the potion and quickly chugged it. She placed the empty vial in her bag, and waited for some sort of dream world to appear. 

Instead, all she got was nothing.

Amity sunk in her spot. Not knowing if it was ever going to work was slowly killing her inside. The thought that she would never be able to reach Luz- _her_ Luz- was too painful to imagine. She clenched her eyes shut as she held her arms, trying to clear her head once again of the possible scenarios that could have happened to Luz. She mentally smacked herself, reminding herself that dwelling on such things wasn’t going to help find her. She rubbed her forehead as she gave a groan of frustration. She would have to just try again later. She had two vials left to try, anyway.

Opening her eyes, she noticed just how dark the bathroom suddenly was. The stall around her was now ever so slightly distorted, and she furrowed her brows as she noticed it actively warping. Amity slowly lifted herself to her feet and reached forward, touching the stall door. Where she touched remained solid under her hand, but the rest kept swimming around lazily in her vision. 

_Is this a side effect of the potion?_ Amity pondered. _Maybe it wasn’t smart to drink it again so soon after the first time…_

She pushed the door open and blinked in surprise as she noticed how gray everything was. The only color she saw was her own reflection in the mirrors, which sat cracked upon the grayed out wall. She didn’t like the uneasy feeling that churned within her.

She moved to the bathroom door and swung it open. She froze as she found herself in a foreign place. It was clearly a school hallway, but it seemed cold and abnormal. Everything was just slightly off, from the non-living metal lockers, to the ceiling that seemed too close to her liking, to the overall concrete color of everything in the environment. Wherever she was, it was no longer Hexside Academy.

She let out a small gasp as realization hit her. The potion _had_ worked.

Which meant Luz was alive.

That thought alone allowed a bit of her nerves to settle down, despite the creepy aura of the dream. She just had to focus on finding Luz and having her tell Amity where she was. 

Amity began walking down the deserted hallway, looking into various abandoned classrooms, trying to locate the human. It felt bizarre, seeing so many familiar things of a school while still being put off by the small differences that made this school seem so cold and uninviting. She had never seen such a school on the Boiling Isles, causing Amity to conclude that it must be one from the human realm. No wonder Luz always seemed in awe of everything. She recalled how Luz would get so fascinated over the most mundane things in the environment of Hexside, such as the lockers, when to Amity it seemed so normal. But if this world she was walking through was all Luz had known, it was no surprise. Everything here seemed so… lifeless. It was definitely not a place she would imagine Luz, who was always so _full_ of life, to come from.

Her ears twitched as she heard whispers forming in the distance. She began following the sounds, trying to locate the source. A single classroom door sat ajar a little ways ahead, and Amity peaked inside. Her ears fell down as she froze in horror at the sight. 

Weird humanoid shadows filled the classroom, all hovering over one specific spot. Their forms were unsteady, seeming to be made of a thick smog, holding no defining features. Their words still seemed incomprehensible, but it was clear from the toxic tones that it was nothing good. Whatever those things were, they were clearly evil. This was no dream; it was a nightmare.

She noticed one turn to her, causing her to clench her fists in fear. As it seemed to stare her down, Amity caught a glimpse of a familiar figure just past the shadow, hunched over her desk with her head down.

“Luz!” she called out.

Immediately, the shadow turned back to Luz, blocking her view once again. Amity’s fear vanished as she raced forward, determined to push past the dark figures. No matter how much effort she gave, the forms refused to budge. Even though they seemed to be made of smoke, their forms seemed solid to the touch. Their aggressive tones overlapped each other in an incomprehensible wave that drowned out any calls Amity attempted to make. Frustration clawed within her as she stepped back. Raising her hand, she attempted to cast a spell, twirling her finger in the air. To her surprise, no glowing circle appeared at her fingertip. She looked down at her hand in confusion. Could she not do magic in the dream world? 

She looked around the room for some sort of alternative. Her eyes landed on a backpack laying haphazardly upon the floor nearby. Without hesitation, she snatched it from the ground and approached the crowd once again. 

“Get away from her!” Amity shouted as she swung the bag towards the creatures’ heads.

Upon contact, the creatures began stumbling back from the impact. Amity took the moment to run into the circle and straight to Luz’s side. She dropped the bag as she gripped onto the human’s arm.

“Luz!” 

Luz jumped in her spot, ripped out of whatever trance she was just in. She looked up at Amity with tear-filled eyes. Amity stiffened as she noticed all of the color of Luz was gone, just as gray as the environment around them. 

“Amity?” Luz blinked, wiping away some stray tears. “What are you doing here?”

Amity opened her mouth to respond when a high-pitched tone filled the room, causing Amity to flinch.

“What the heck was that!?” Amity growled, rubbing her ears. 

“It’s the school bell,” Luz explained, matter-of-factly. “You should really sit down before the teacher arrives.”

“What? No, Luz I-“

Amity jumped as a shadow hand landed on her shoulder. She looked back to find a shadow creature looming threateningly over her. Amity’s jaw clenched, fear creeping back in at the sight.

“You should really sit down before you get in trouble, Amity,” Luz insisted, a concerned frown on her face.

Amity wanted to protest, but with all the creatures watching her, she felt a sense of danger filling the atmosphere. Letting out a frustrated growl, she slowly released Luz’s arm and slipped into the seat behind her friend. As soon as she was situated, the rest of the shadow creatures drifted into their own seats. Amity gasped in surprise as a swirl of smoke burst from the ground at the front of the room. As it settled, it took the form of another humanoid creature, staring at the class by the chalkboard. More incomprehensible voices began to fill the air as the figure at the front wrote illegible scribbles on the board. Luz sunk in her seat once again as all the figures in their seats stared her down. Amity’s ears went down at the judgmental behavior behind directed towards Luz. She looked over at Luz and, for the first time, noticed the cruel words scratched into her desk.

_Nerd._

_LUZer._

_No one likes you._

_Just disappear._

Amity felt sick reading the words on Luz’s desk. She thought back to what Luz had told her about her life in the human realm.

_“I had a hard time fitting in at home. I hadn’t found any friends.”_

Amity clenched her jaw. Luz had only mentioned not having friends. She never mentioned she had been bullied, let alone to this extent. The idea of anyone doing such awful things to Luz made Amity’s blood boil. Luz was so pure, and people treated her like this? How could they say such things to her? Were most humans that heartless?

Amity reached forward and nudged her friend’s shoulder, “Hey, Luz?”

Luz seemed startled at the touch, but turned around, confusion etched in her face.

“What’s up, Amity? Is something wrong?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Oh… sure!”

A little of Luz’s spirit began to show, and Amity noticed the room’s darkness begin to wane. Did Amity do that somehow?

“I need to ask-“

“LUZ NOCEDA…”

Both girls leapt as the teacher form suddenly appeared next to them. Amity watched as once again the atmosphere drew dark. Luz stared at the teacher before offering a weak smile. 

“Hey teach! What’s up?”

The teacher leaned into Luz’s face, causing the human to sink further into her chair. The teacher finally spoke, the first words of the monsters Amity could understand.

“It’s one thing disrupting class,” the smoke hissed, “but I will not let you bring down our top student with your bad behavior.”

“Hey!” Amity snapped, horrified at what she was seeing. “I was the one talking to her! So just leave her alone!”

All the form’s heads snapped onto her, and the feeling of terror struck her. She waited for some sort of attack, but they all simply watched her. Luz stared at her in shock. 

“Amity-“

“No,” Amity cut her off, continuing to stare at the ghost teacher. “You can’t treat her like that. Luz is a great person, and I won’t sit here while you hurt her!”

The figure began to drift towards her, but Amity held her ground, hoping she looked braver than she felt. As the figure stopped before her, Amity clenched her jaw, doing everything in her power to not back down. Finally the smoke hissed once again.

“Amity, it’s very kind of you, but we all know you are just putting up with her to be polite. You don’t have to pretend to like her. After all, no one can like someone so weird.”

Amity felt herself frozen from shock. Luz diverted her gaze to the floor, the room growing darker still. That’s when it hit her. This was Luz’s nightmare, not hers. The creature wasn’t about to hurt Amity, because it was Luz’s nightmare. This was Luz’s personal fears. It was her fear of being alone and friendless again. It was her believing she was too abnormal or odd for anyone to want her. Amity had seen a glimpse of this that night on the roof. She had not seen just how deep those feelings went, how deeply terrified the girl she loved was of being rejected by everyone, including her. 

And as long as they remained in the nightmare of isolation, she would never be able to reach Luz. 

“Well… you’re wrong. If I didn’t like her, I would just say so. I am nice to her because she is the sweetest, bravest, and most caring person I have ever known! And we are leaving. Now.”

Without waiting on a response, Amity grabbed Luz’s wrist and took off in a full sprint out of the bland classroom, pulling the stunned Luz behind her. 

“COME BACK HERE!” a thousand voices boomed as one as the world seemed to shake around them.

Amity glanced behind them as they continued to run. Her heart jumped as she watched the figures morph into one giant mass of black smog that proceeded to quickly roll towards them, various faceless heads and hands sticking out in odd places of the singular form. Though made of smoke, the image was all to close in resembling Grom, causing an extra layer of horror at the sight of it. She had to get them away from that creature to have any chance of helping Luz.

“W-where are we going!?” Luz cried out, desperation in her voice.

Amity wracked her brain. If this world was Luz’s dream, then logically it should followed the rules of a dream. If she could make Luz believe something, the world should morph around that. At least, that’s what she hoped.

“I put a spell on the exit ahead of us!” Amity shouted. “When we go through, we will be safe at the owl shack!”

“The owl house? Really?”

“Do you trust me?” Amity asked. 

“Of course I do!”

Amity nodded as she picked up speed. She tried to ignore the sounds drawing closer behind them. She just had to get to the exit at the end of the hall. She just prayed that her plan would work.

A scream sounded just as Luz’s wrist was ripped from Amity’s grasp. Amity spun around and gasped as she noticed the darkness wrapped around Luz’s leg and dragging her away. Luz clawed desperately at the floor, panic in her eyes. Amity raced back to her and grabbed her hands. She grunted with effort as she attempted to pull Luz out of the grip of the creature, but for every second that passed, more and more hands gripped Luz and continued to pull her in. Amity’s strength was no match for the nightmare fuel. She searched her brain for some idea. 

“Luz!” she shouted as she looked into her friends terrified eyes. “I’m going to cast a spell to make the creature explode! Get ready!”

“Hurry!” Luz cried.

Amity took a deep breath, hoping her theories of the dream’s mechanics were correct. She lifted her finger up and began to twirl it. A purple ring began forming in the air, making her smirk in victory. She connected the circle. Amity watched as the creature’s form swelled and it let out a horrific shrill cry. A second later, the smoke erupted, causing black to fly in bits around the room. Amity wasted no time to help Luz up and pull her along once again. 

“Oh crap, it’s coming back!” Luz warned.

Amity looked back, noticing the pieces begin to regather and once again start their pursuit. She ran faster, going as quickly as her legs would carry them. As they reached the door, she let go of Luz, trying to push the door open. She pushed with all her might, and yet it didn’t budge. 

“Uh, Amity?” Luz nervously chuckled as she tapped Amity’s shoulder. “I don’t mean to rush you, but that creature is almost here!”

Amity spotted the creature charging at full speed once again. She grabbed Luz by the shoulders, staring into the gray eyes of her friend.

“Luz, this portal won’t open unless we open it together. If you help me push, we will be able to open it.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Luz nodded. “Let’s do this!”

Amity and Luz turned to the door and once again started to push with everything they had. Almost instantly, the door began to slide open. Once the door was cracked just enough to slide through, the two girls rushed inside.

The screeching creature was seconds away. Amity and Luz quickly began closing the door. Just as the door clicked shut, something slammed against it, causing both of them to fly backwards onto the floor. They stared at the door anxiously, both gasping for air from the run. No more sounds or attacks hit the door. Both girls glanced at each other. 

The two of them suddenly burst into a laughing fit. Luz abruptly sprung to her feet with a little bounce.

“Hellooooo owl house!” Luz cheered, running around the room. “Hello ceiling mural! Hello wanted posters! And hello couch! Gosh, how I’ve missed this couch!”

Luz flopped backwards onto the red couch. Amity looked around the room, glad to see the color of the house was as bright and blindingly colorful as usual, none of the nightmare’s bland gray in sight. She glanced over to Luz, who was giggling as she laid sprawled on the couch. Amity frowned as she noted Luz’s color was still completely grayed out. Why had she not gained color like everything else? Amity shook her head, trying not to look too much into the lack of logic of a dream world. Standing up, she walked over to Luz. Luz opened her eyes and grinned up at her. 

“Thanks for getting me out of there, Amity!” she said in a sing-song voice. “I thought I was never going to catch a break!”

Amity felt her heart hitch at Luz’s smile. The smile made its way to her eyes, genuine in its joy it contained. The warmth it radiated, even in its monochrome color, washed over Amity. Titan, how she missed that smile. She felt tears threatening to fall. Luz seemed to notice as she cocked her head.

“Are you okay?” Luz asked sweetly, voice laced with concern. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Amity quickly wiped the tears away. “No, you did absolutely nothing wrong, Luz. I’m just really happy to see you.”

“Awww,” Luz squealed, her hands cupping her cheeks. “Amity, that is so sweet! I am happy to see you, too!”

Amity could melt.

“R-right,” Amity stumbled over her words. “Well, now that we are safe, I really need to talk to you. It’s important.”

Luz sat up on her arms, smiling as she patted the couch beside her. Amity made her way over and sat onto the couch stiffly.

“Okay. Well I-“

Amity squeaked as Luz flopped back down, head now resting in Amity’s lap as she looked up at her. Amity felt heat quickly rising to her face, and she prayed Luz couldn’t hear the pounding in her chest. 

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Luz asked.

“Uh…,” Amity cleared her throat, trying hard to focus on her task. “So this may sound really weird, but you are dreaming right now. We are both currently in your dream.”

Luz stared back with wide eyes without a word. Staring into those eyes, Amity couldn’t help but note the lack of gold in Luz’s usually brown eyes. She missed their glow.

“So…,” Luz spoke slowly. “None of this is real?”

“Well, I mean, we are real. But everything else isn’t.”

“That… makes a lot of sense actually. About this being a dream, I mean,” Luz nodded. 

“You believe me?” Amity asked.

“Duh!” Luz smiled. “If you say it’s a dream, it must be a dream. I’m not dumb enough to doubt _the_ Amity Blight.”

Amity smiled softly at those words, “Good. You better not.”

Luz chuckled, causing Amity’s heart to flutter.

“Okay, so now that’s out of the way,” Amity continued, “I need your help.”

“Of course I’ll help! Your fearless knight is here for whatever you need!” Luz raised a fist heroically. “What’s can I do for you?”

“I-… gosh, how do I start?” Amity rubbed her neck, mind starting to run a mile a minute.

“From the beginning, of course.”

“The beginning. Okay… well, there is someone walking around school claiming to be you, but I think- no I _know_ they are not you. And you are… _lost_ ,” Amity sunk in her spot as she said the words aloud. “I believe the switch happened at the festival, but I am having trouble figuring out what happened that night. All I know was there was a mess in the festival’s tent, I found your cape with blood on it, and then we thought we found you again in the woods. I’ve been trying so hard to figure out what happened, and who this person is, and most importantly where you vanished to. And I was beginning to worry that maybe you were-… but obviously your _not_ because… well, because you are here. Long story short is that I need you to tell me where you are so I can bring you back!”

Amity finished her longwinded explanation, gasping for air, and then waited for an answer. Luz stared up at her, eyes wide. Slowly, her eyes became heavier, lowering into a pitiful expression that hurt Amity to the core.

“Oh yeah…,” she hummed softly. “I forgot. I-… I’m still missing, aren’t I? And she…”

Amity frowned as Luz trailed off. Luz groaned as she turned and wrapped her arms around Amity’s waist. Amity stiffened at the contact.

“You were right… this is a dream. Of course it is. After what _she_ did, why would you be here?” Luz moaned. 

“Luz, I _am_ here!” Amity insisted, placing a tentative hand on the human’s head. 

“Yeah, you are,” Luz pulled away enough to give her another sad smile. “At least I still have you in my dreams, huh?”

“What? No! You don’t understand. I am _actually_ here! Bosha made me a potion to help me find you in your dream realm so I could talk to you,” Amity spoke, desperation in her voice. “I came here to ask you where you are. Where did CL take you?”

“CL?”

“Sorry, that’s what we’ve been calling her. CL. Short for Creepy Luz.”

Luz gave a weak chuckle, “I like that. Creepy Luz. I’ve just been calling her witchy me in my head.”

“Witchy you?” 

“Yeah, she is me, but like, a witch version? Apparently, she was the me of this dimension. But I like your name better.”

“Oh my Titan…,” Amity leaned back against the couch, trying to absorb the information. 

“I know, right?” Luz cracked a small smile. “Alternate dimension shenanigans at its finest.”

“Okay, so… where is this other version of you keeping you?” she asked, filing that info away for later processing. 

“I don’t know…,” Luz shrugged, cuddling up against Amity again. “Some house I’ve never seen before. That’s all I know.”

“Luz, I need more of a clue on where to look,” Amity begged. “Where is the house? Who does it belong to? Where do I look?”

“I don’t have any clue,” Luz mumbled. “Not that it matters. I’m probably never going to be found. I just wish I could actually warn you about her. She’s nuts.”

“We are going to find you, okay? I’m not going to give up until I bring you home,” Amity insisted. 

“You know, I really wish that was true. In fact, if anyone would have figured it out, I was sure it would have been you. But I know she hurt you, and embarrassed you, and now you hate me in real life. But I’m glad I can still have you here. You chased the nightmares away. You will stay, right?” Luz asked, pulling herself into a tighter grip. Amity could feel the human’s hands trembling as it clenched the fabric of Amity’s shirt, “You won’t leave me alone again, right? This is the first good thing I’ve experienced in days.”

Amity’s heart shattered at Luz’s shaking form. She no longer hesitated to embrace the girl in her lap, running her hand through the girl’s hair like she did the night on the roof. Tears prickled in her own eyes at the pain in Luz’s pleas. 

“I know you don’t believe me, but I am here. I am real. And I am really coming to find you, Luz. But I will stay as long as I can right now. And I will keep coming back until I get to you in the waking world, okay?”

Luz sniffed as she buried herself deeper in Amity’s embrace, “… whatever you say.”

They continued to sit there in silence, Luz in her embrace and Amity petting her hair. Amity looked at her ears. She moved a hand towards it, hovering just above it. She gently lowered her hand, softly brushing her fingers over them, tracing along the cute rounded tops. It was no wonder CL wouldn’t let anyone touch the ears. Being a witch, her ears would not have the rounded tips that her Luz had, and thus their real ears had to be hidden behind an illusion for sure. She traced the ears a second longer, holding onto the proof that this Luz was truly hers. With a sad sigh, she held Luz tight and returned to petting her hair.

“Please don’t start doubting me now, Noceda.”

_…up…_

_…wake up…_

“AMITY, WAKE UP!”

Amity jolted upright as she felt herself being shook violently. Emira stared at her with a look of concern from above. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” Emira stepped back. “I got worried when you weren’t at lunch! Then I freaked when I noticed you were unconscious! Are you okay? I wasn’t sure if-”

Amity’s mind blocked out her sister’s rant as she looked around the restroom stall urgently, recovering from being ripped abruptly from the dream realm. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked down at her lap. Her chest tightened as she registered the lack of human in her grasp. Her hands shook at the sight.

“Hey, look at me,” Emira’s voice broke through again.

She glanced up at her sister. Emira gently rested her hands on Amity’s shoulders.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Amity,” her older sibling spoke softly.

Amity’s breathing hitched as she stared into her sister’s eyes. She tried to find some sort of words, something to even begin describing everything she had just witnessed. To explain what she had discovered about CL. To explain the suffering Luz was trapped in. To explain the pain now crushing her heart over having Luz once again ripped away from her. Instead, she simply embraced Emira in desperation and wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter this week as a thank you for 300 followers on Instagram (and close to 90 subscribers on the story)!!
> 
> Contact has been made. 
> 
> Enjoy!! And as always, feel free to comment thoughts, theories, or whatever! Comments are a huge motivation to me!


	20. Finding Allies

**WILLOW POV:**

Willow wasn’t stupid. Something was wrong with Luz.

Since Amity had mentioned Luz acting off two days ago, Willow’s mind couldn’t help but focus on her human friend. She didn’t noticed anything at first, but after watching her, more and more red flags were becoming evident.

Luz had seemed more distant to her and Gus. She used to go out of her way to meet up with them between most classes, but recently she only saw Luz at lunch, during their shared class, as well as before and after school. It was still a good amount of time, but much less than before. It was like it was just a scheduled part of her day now, an obligation to fulfill. And they had yet to plan any hangouts outside of school for some time.

Even when the group was hanging out, Luz would just randomly disconnect, drifting off into her own distant world. One moment she would be chatting it up, and the next it was like they didn’t even exist to her. It was very out of character.

Willow had chalked it up to her being upset. She still had not seemed to find any new leads to finding a way home. In fact, she hadn’t even brought up any conversation about it since the festival. Willow wondered if Luz was just trying to ignore it all. After all, if Willow found herself stranded in a foreign world with no way home to her dads, she wouldn’t want to talk about it much either. So, who was she to push Luz to talk about it? She was sure if she just continued to be her friend and be kind that Luz would talk about it when she was ready.

Willow tilted her watering can, sprinkling the dragon root sprout with water. She glanced up to Luz, who was refilling her own watering can on the opposite side of the greenhouse. Her friend stared at the water with a tired look. It was such an odd look to find on her cheerful friend’s face, but Willow simply shook her head, pushing aside her curiosity. 

She needed to respect Luz’s privacy.

“Hey, Willow,” Amelia spoke as she approached her, eyes avoiding Willow’s.

“Hey, Amelia! What’s up?” she asked, tearing her gaze from Luz.

“Um, this may be a bit weird, but can I ask you a question?” she asked, rubbing her own arm.

“Of course,” Willow smiled warmly. “Do you have a question about our assignment?”

“No, not that. I was wondering how Amity was doing?” she admitted, shifting in her spot.

“Amity?”

“Yeah. I saw what happened at lunch yesterday. I know she doesn’t hang out with our group anymore, but I was concerned after I saw that. Is she doing okay?” Amelia asked, finally meeting Willow’s eyes.

“Wait, what happened at lunch yesterday? I never saw her there,” Willow held her watering can closer.

“You didn’t see it? Luz rejected Amity.”

“What!?” Willow squeaked out, nearly dropping the watering can. 

“Yeah. I’m surprised they didn’t tell you. Luz had rejected Amity. She was very loud about it, too. It was rough to watch. Amity ran out of the cafeteria after that. I just was concerned for her is all. After all, she used to be our grudgby captain and everything,” Amelia explained. “So you don’t know how she is?”

“No,” Willow’s voice lowered as she looked down at her watering can. “I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I was just curious. Thanks anyway.”

Amelia turned and walked back to her plant a little ways away. Willow looked back at Luz, who was focusing hard on not spilling her gathered water as she made her way back over to her own plant.

She couldn’t even imagine Luz rejecting Amity in such an embarrassing way. In fact, she was surprised the human had rejected Amity at all. Though she had no proof, the way Luz had always reacted upon seeing Amity, Willow had started to suspect she had also developed feelings for Amity in return. 

Maybe she should check in with Luz after all.

Sadly, this class period was too busy thanks to their plant projects to have time to talk. Plus, she would want to do it in private. She made a mental note to talk to Luz at a later time. Perhaps she wasn’t as fine as Willow had thought. Maybe Amity had been onto something after all.

She gave a small, thoughtful sigh as she returned to watering her plant, wondering how to best approach her friend on the matter. Over time, her mind slowly drifted to Amity. She wondered how she was holding up after everything. She knew they weren’t really close friends again yet, but a part of her wanted to check in with her, especially after how worried she sounded about getting rejected when Willow suggested admitting her feelings to Luz. It wasn’t likely she was taking it well. Her only concern on approaching her was the fact she was unsure if she and Amity in a place where they could talk like that. Would Amity even want to talk about this sort of thing to her when they only just recently began to reform the bridge that had been burned in their childhood? 

She sent a silent wish to the titan, hoping that her previous best friend was doing okay.

~*~

**AMITY POV:**

Amity was not doing okay.

While she was in her spiraling depression, her siblings had snuck her into what looked like an abandoned classroom. Luckily for her, the halls were still empty, so they had managed to pull her aside without anyone noticing her breakdown. The moment they arrived, she had taken out Luz’s cape and held it, as if somehow holding onto it would make up for the fact she was no longer holding onto Luz. But of course, it didn’t. It had taken the remaining time of lunch and the some of the passing period just for Amity to calm down enough to tell her siblings everything. They didn’t interrupt once as she talked, their faces serious as they took in every word. 

“-and just at that moment, you woke me up,” Amity finished her story, wiping away the newest tears that had fallen. 

“Oh… my Titan,” Edric breathed out, leaning back and running a hand through his hair.

“So, there are two of her,” Emira rubbed her temples. “An evil witch one and our goofy human one?”

“Apparently,” Amity nodded, holding the cape tighter to her chest. 

She didn’t even care if she looked like a child with that blanket at this point. It was all she could do to avoid spiraling into another wave of depression and anxiety.

“I guess that explains the location spell to locate Luz getting so messed up. There were two targets to focus on,” Emira hummed.

“We asked a classmate to do a locating spell on Luz, and it couldn’t get a set reading on her,” Edric explained to Amity.

“A locating spell didn’t work?” Amity’s ears lowered.

“With two of them, I don’t see how it could work,” Edric admitted.

“Then how are we going to find what house she is in?” Amity panicked. “It’s not like we can go door to door with every house on the Isles! That would take too long!”

“Hey, it will be okay,” Edric quickly offered a smile and an arm over her shoulder. “We will find her.”

“How?” Amity looked up at her older brother. “A locating spell won’t work, and the only person who know where Luz is being kept is CL, and it is not like she will tell us.”

“You have two more potions to connect to Luz, right?” Emira finally spoke again.

“Yeah,” Amity said.

She reached into her bag and withdrew the two remaining vials of purple liquid. She showed them to her siblings.

“So, we have two more attempts to talk to her,” Emira pointed out. “Maybe she will be able to learn something by then. Just make sure to wait until later tonight at least. Give her time to try and get more information on her location.”

“And if we can’t after those two tries, we can always have Bosha whip up some more potion!” Edric chirped.

“I don’t think we can,” Amity sighed, slipping the potions back into her bag. “We can only make it by putting in something that Luz has made. I was able to get this batch using a drawing she had made in my diary during the library incident. I don’t even know of anything else she made herself.”

“Oh,” Edric deflated. “That means we really only have two more times to talk to her.”

“I don’t think it will do much good, either,” Amity sunk her head into her hands. “Luz has no clue where she is, and she doesn’t think it was really me talking to her in the dream. She doesn’t even seem to think she will ever be found. It sounds like she has given up just as we are finally starting to search for her. I know I have to find her quickly, but I don’t know how we can, and all the while she is suffering completely alone. I promised her we were coming for her, but I don’t even know what we can to do next to find her!”

“Hey, we will think of something,” Emira placed a hand on Amity’s head. “It was just this morning we confirmed that CL isn’t Luz. It’s been half a day, and in that time we have managed to confirm that CL is an imposter, found a way to contact Luz, and figured out who CL truly is. That’s a lot of progress in a short time. You are doing a fantastic job, Mittens. Now let’s just take the rest of the day to think on this. I’m sure we will be able to come up with something in that amount of time, okay?”

Amity halfheartedly pushed Emira’s hand off her head and sighed. She slipped the cape gently back into her bag, a part of her aching soul going with it. 

“Okay,” Amity looked up to Emira. “You’re right. We can do this.”

“Heck yeah we can!” Edric grinned. “And don’t you forget it!”

“We are Blights, after all,” Emira nodded. “And Blights don’t fail. We will bring Luz home.”

Amity grinned, remembering her friend’s words.

“We can do this together…”

“Exactly,” Emira smiled.

~*~

The rest of the day went agonizingly slow, practically dragging its feet to the final hour. She purposefully avoided seeing CL the best she could during passing periods. She had long since given up any hope of focusing on school now, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to until Luz was back in class with her. So instead, she spent all her class time trying to think of a clever way to find Luz. But as class period after class period only ended with another list of dead-end ideas, Amity’s frustrations only grew. At this rate, she would never manage to figure out a way to find Luz. 

Finally, the last bell screamed overhead. End of the day, and no good plan. She pushed aside her frustration as she gathered her bag up. She walked down the hall, not even stopping by her locker as she made a bee line for the main exit. She was hoping a quick escape from the school would make it to where she didn’t have to run into CL.

As she left the building, she scanned the other students outside, trying to spot Edric and Emira. She groaned in frustration when she couldn’t locate them, knowing it meant they were taking their sweet time to leave. However, as she scanned the crowd, a particular wobbling trashcan managed to catch her eye. The lid cracked slightly, and a familiar set of yellow and pink eyes could be seen glaring just inside. Amity raised a curious brow as she approached the metal trash bin. As she drew near, King noticed her and his eyes grew wide. He slammed the lid back shut just as she reached him. She rolled her eyes, then reached out, removing the top. 

“Weh!” King yelped as he jumped up, causing the trashcan to topple backwards and spilling the demon out among other pieces of garbage. 

“King,” Amity crossed her arms. “What are you doing here?”

“I could be asking you the same thing,” King said, trying to sound chill.

“I go to school here,” Amity passed an unamused look. “But I heard you were banned after pretending to be a teacher here for a day.”

“Hey! I was a great teacher! Those students adored being under my rule,” King shouted pointing at her. 

“That is because you let them slack off,” Amity mumbled. 

“I taught them valuable life lessons that-“

King froze, staring wide-eyed at something behind Amity. She turned and spotted CL exiting the school. When she looked down from the top of the steps, her eyes immediately locked onto Amity. The sound of clanging metal caused Amity to look back to the demon, who was now desperately attempting to run back into the trashcan. Was he hiding from CL?

“Heeeeeeey, Amity!” a nervous chuckle sounded behind Amity, causing her to startle. 

Amity glanced behind her once again as an out of breath CL badly attempted a grin. She had obviously just ran over to them all the way from the entrance in that short moment. Amity felt her hands gripping tighter into her crossed arms, holding back the desire to light the witch in front of her on fire on behalf of Luz’s pain. 

“What do you want?” Amity snarled.

CL looked down at the trashcan and pointed, “Just noticed my furry roommate came to pick me up. Right, King?”

A groan of defeat came from the trash as King crawled back out, “And why would I want to be left alone with a-“

“Heeeeey, now,” CL interrupted a bit too loud, her fake grin only growing. “You know what I just realized, King? We never did our comedy hour this morning! Why don’t we do that on our way home, just you and me?”

“Comedy hour, huh? Alright,” King narrowed his eyes. “What do you call a gluten free noodle? An _Impasta_.”

Amity’s eyes widened slightly at his joke. CL’s smile remained plastered, but a darkness passed over her eyes at the comment. 

“That was a good one,” CL spoke, her voice wavering slightly. “Let’s head home now and you can tell me even more!”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” King spoke with unfounded authority. “I would never go with a fake-“

“And up we go!” CL interrupted King again as she snatched him up by his scruff.

“Hey! Put me down! As your ruler I demand you obey!” King thrashed around.

“Let him go!” Amity spoke aggressively. “He clearly doesn’t want to go, so back off!”

“Oh, it’s fine!” CL assured, waving her hand in the air casually. “He just is tired because- OW!”

King had managed to grab her outstretched hand and bite it, causing her to drop him in surprise. The moment he was free, King took off running towards town. CL gave a death glare at him as she began to follow. Amity stepped in front of her path, stopping her. She met CL’s surprised eyes with a glare of her own.

“Leave him alone!” Amity snapped. “Haven’t you done enough?”

“What?” CL recoiled slightly.

 _Careful…_ , Amity’s logic whispered in her ear.

Amity took a second to collect herself before forcing herself to reply.

“Clearly, King is upset about something you have done,” Amity said, carefully filtering her word selection. “With the way you behaved in lunch the other day towards me, I have no doubt you probably said something awful to him as well. If he is not wanting to be around you, then back off.”

“I was just going to walk home with him,” CL’s fists clenched as she replied. “He is just being dramatic is all.”

“It doesn’t matter what the reason is!” Amity huffed. “If he wants to be alone, then you should just let him be. Go home, CL.”

The two of them stood in silence for what seemed like forever, neither one breaking the tension between them. Finally CL’s fists relaxed as she took in a deep breath, and released it with a creepy smile.

“You’re right, Amity,” she spoke a bit too sweet. “I should let him cool off a bit. I’m sure he will be back to his normal self by tonight. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

CL turned and walked away without another word. Fury raged within Amity as she watched the girl disappear into the crowd of homebound students. Once out of sight, Amity quickly took off towards town, following after the tiny demon. She would have waited for her older siblings, but she was more afraid of losing King’s trail.

Of course it seemed pointless as just a little ways off the school grounds, Amity lost his trail. She clicked her tongue in frustration as she began to walk around Bonesborough. It took some time, but Amity finally noticed the grey lump of fur pouting on the bench of the town’s public playground. He sat there, tail drooped and arms hugging himself as he stared at the ground. 

Amity walked over and sat herself beside the demon, looking out at the children playing in front of them. King glared at her from his spot.

“What do you want?” King snarled half-heartedly.

“You seemed upset,” Amity shrugged, leaning back as she attempted to act casual. “I was just wanting to see what’s wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong,” King snapped, turning his head away.

A kid fell off of the large slide platform and began to cry, their mother running to their side. The crying caused Amity’s head to start aching.

“Obviously. Because it is normal for someone to just hide in a trashcan, bite their friend, and run away from them if nothing is wrong. Very believable,” Amity mocked in a dry tone.

“Oh yeah? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, anyway, so what doesn’t it matter?” King mumbled.

“Try me,” Amity finally met his gaze. 

King met her gaze, a look of uncertainty in his eyes. He finally gave a defeated sigh.

“It’s Luz,” he finally admitted, tapping his claws together nervously. “The Luz that I ran from is a fake, and yet Eda doesn’t believe me despite the fact that I saw her true form! She just thinks what I saw was an illusion spell, but I know what I saw! That was not Luz!”

“You saw her without her human disguise!?” Amity shot upright.

“You believe me?” King blinked.

“Yeah, my siblings and I figured it out already,” Amity waved the words aside. “But tell me what she looks like.”

“Well, she looks a lot like Luz,” King tapped his claw on his fang. “Except she has pointy ears and blood red eyes.”

Amity quickly pulled her diary out and flipped open to the first blank page she could find. She quickly scribbled down King’s description for future reference.

“So, if you know that she isn’t Luz, does this mean you have an idea on how to find our Luz?”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it. But I need more information to come up with a plan. Tell me everything you know.”

King didn’t hesitate, telling her everything he experienced during his time in the house with CL. Amity would write down any new bit of information about her that he mentioned, hoping that some sort of key to solving her problem would reveal itself from his tales. When he finished, Amity shared with him her stories, while also glancing over her newly created list.

Just as she finished, her eyes continued to hover over one particular bullet point. She glanced back over to King.

“Wait, so CL is obsessed with the owl lady’s palisman?” 

“Owlbert? Yeah,” King nodded. “She is obsessed with him! She wants to hold him so bad, and when Owlbert refuses to get near her, she gets angry.”

“Sounds like Owlbert could tell right away that CL wasn’t Luz,” Amity pointed out.

“I didn’t even think about that! I bet you are right!” King left up.

Amity smiled as she finally felt her first flicker of hope, “I think I may have a plan.”

“What is it?”

“If CL likes Owlbert that much, we may be able to use that to our advantage. Get Owlbert to pretend to like her back. Have him stick to her like glue. After hanging around her long enough, he may be able to see where Luz is being kept and lead us straight to her!”

“That’s perfect!” King pumped his fists. “I’m so glad I thought of it!”

Amity rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Just make sure Owlbert knows what he needs to do. Oh, and I suggest not being caught alone with CL. She looked ready to kill you after you ran off. I don’t think it would be safe for you to stay at the house. Deliver the message, then get out.”

“Wait, then where will I sleep?” King’s tail drooped.

“I suppose… I could sneak you in to my room at night. You just have to be quiet. My parents would freak out if they found you in the house.”

King nodded, “Alright. Operation Find-Luz-and-Bring-Her-Home, begin!”

“Yeah, we are not calling it that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Chaos offline caused me unable to update. But I'm back and ready to roll! Thank you for those people who reached out during that time to encourage me in my writing during that rough time. Your messages and comments meant the world to me!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and as always feel free to leave any comments/theories/etc! They always make my day!


	21. Operation Light

**KING POV:**

“Operation Find the Human?” King asked from inside Amity’s bag.

“That’s a stupid name as well. In fact, it is worse than the last three you suggested!” Amity snapped as she trekked through forest’s foliage. 

“Well, I don’t hear you coming up with anything!” King looked up with a judgmental glare.

“For the last time, it doesn’t need a name, King,” Amity glared from under her cape’s hood. 

“Of course it does! Not naming a mission is like asking for it to fail. I know because I’ve seen it in Luz’s human scroll. All human spies name their missions, so obviously it is good luck for a mission to have a name!” King theorized. 

“Fine! If I help come up with a name, will you be quiet?” Amity snarled.

“No promises.”

“Ugh, fine,” Amity finally scowled.

They walk for a brief moment in silence. She gave a small hum as her gaze softened.

“Operation Light,” she offered.

King’s eyes widened, “Oh, I see! Because her name is Luz!”

“What? No,” Amity stopped mid-step. “Wait, what does her name have to do with that operation name?”

“Oh, she has been teaching me some of that other fancy language she can speak. Apparently ‘luz’ means ‘light’ in that language? At least, according to what she told me,” King shrugged.

“Her name is light.” Amity cracked a smile, shaking her head as she continued on, “Of course it is.”

King leaned forward a bit, observing the witch.

“If you didn’t know that, why did you name the operation ‘Light’?” King questioned suspiciously.

King noted how the girl’s face seemed to turn red at the question, “O-oh, you know… it uh- _obviously_ is because her first spell was a light spell! Yeah, the light spell! Definitely because of her spell...”

King knew right away it was more than that, but he had no interest in where the conversation was going.

“Gag…,” King mumbled.

“Excuse me?” Amity’s blushing deepened as she glared down at him.

“Nothing,” King groaned. “Just keep your gross romantic mush deep inside, and we will be fine, okay?”

“I wasn’t-“

“We’re here,” King purposefully cut her off, pointing to the owl house’s broken tower jutting into the sky not too far off. “Time to start Operation Light!”

King attempted to hop out of the witch’s bag, but struggled to get out due to the flimsy fabric.

"Careful of the vials!" Amity hissed quietly.

“I know!” King grumbled. "I'm not an idio- OOF!"

King rubbed his head after gracelessly falling out of the bag and landing head first onto the forest floor. Amity arched a brow at him as she slipped the hood of her cape down.

"Yeah. You are clearly the embodiment of intelligence," Amity mocked. "Look… you know the plan. So just get in, talk to the palisman, and get out before she knows you are there.”

“Remind me again why I’m the one risking my tail and not you?” King huffed.

“Because if she catches me sneaking around the inside of the owl shack-“

“Owl house!”

“Fine. Owl house,” Amity rolled her eyes. “If she caught me sneaking around inside, it would seem much more suspicious than you sneaking around inside. She would assume you would come back since it’s where you live. Me being in there would only make her realize something is up.”

“I get it, okay?” King snapped. “I just don’t like the idea of walking back inside the place where a psycho-copy of Luz is ready to mount my skull on the wall!”

“If you get caught, I will come get you out,” Amity assured. “But only if there is no other way. We can’t risk her realizing that we know anything. So… you ready?”

King sucked in a deep breath, trying to push away the fear clawing at him. He gave a nod, his normal attitude vanishing. 

“For Luz,” King finally voiced.

“For Luz,” Amity nodded. 

King nervously made his way forward, walking towards the house. As he got closer, he made an effort to remain hidden, jumping from bush to bush. As he reached the closest one to the clearing the house sat in, he paused. He tilted his head as he noticed hooty’s tube body was plunged into the earth. Why was he burrowing?

“ _HOOT HOOT!_ WELCOME HOME!”

King squeaked in fright as he stumbled out of the bush. Hooty’s face had apparently resurfaced from the ground directly behind the bush where King had been hiding.

“Whatcha doing?” Hooty smiled as he rested his head on top of King’s skull.

“None of your business!” King snarled pushing Hooty away. 

“Okay! Just so you know, Luz was looking for you! Should I tell her you are home?” 

“No!” King cried. “Whatever you do, don’t tell her I am here! I was never here!”

“But you are here! Unless…,” Hooty gasped. “Am I having a hallucination?”

“Uh, yes! You are hallucinating! I am not actually here!” King waved his hands mystically in the air. 

“Hoot! I knew eating that strange bug was a bad idea!”

“Riiiiight,” King recoiled at the thought of what critter the owl tube ate this time. “So, aren’t you going to let me in?”

“Sure thing, bug-hallucination!” Hooty chirped before returning to his post.

The door swung open and King peered inside. Seeing no CL in sight, the demon scurried within before Hooty closed the door behind him. He froze as he heard CL’s voice emanating from the kitchen, getting closer and closer. King looked around urgently before diving behind the couch, crouching low to stay out of sight. 

“Come back here!” CL’s voice called out.

Just then, Owlbert flew into the room with CL chasing after him. Owlbert landed beside some of the candles resting high above the fireplace, letting out a nervous hoot. He ruffled his feathers as CL skid to a stop in front of the fireplace, panting heavily from the chase.

“Come on, little guy!” CL groaned. “Why won’t you come down here? I just wanna hold you! It’s not like I’m going to hurt you. I promise.”

Owlbert gave a tiny, nervous trilling sound in response. King frowned, tapping his skull’s fang as he began to ponder. How was he going to talk to Owlbert if CL was currently focused on trying to get to him? 

Owlbert noticed King’s movement and glanced up at him. CL paused as Owlbert’s attention was diverted away from her. 

“What is it?” CL asked.

CL spun around and King quickly ducked further behind the couch. His heart began pounding in his chest as his breathing quickened. Had CL seen him? 

He tensed up as he heard CL’s footsteps slowly walk closer to the couch. He covered his muzzle with his paws, trying to quiet his breathing. The footsteps stopped just on the other side of the couch of where he hid. Every bit of fur on his body was now bristling in terror.

“ _King._ ”

He felt his heart stop at his name. He flinched as he heard fabric tearing, and then something get tossed against the wall nearby. His eyes widened a bit as he noticed the tossed object to be Francois, but with the head now torn off. King started to reach out to grab it, but forced himself to pause. He knew he had to stay hidden, or else find himself mirroring his rabbit companion's condition.

“Who does King think he is? I mean, he just marches into the school grounds and-…,” CL growled as he heard her plop onto the couch. 

She didn’t say anything for a moment. A clap caused King to jump, his nerves officially shot.

“Never mind all that! I will deal with that tiny pain in my side later. For now, why don’t you and I just hang out? Luz and Owlbert’s day of fun! What do you say? If you come down to hang out, I’ll get you a dead mouse to eat. Wait, do palisman even eat?” CL rambled, the dark tone quickly shifting back to a casual one.

As she continued to ramble, King tried urgently to think of some way to complete the mission, or a way to escape as a last resort. Without getting CL away from Owlbert, he couldn’t talk to the owl. And with CL chilling out in the living room, there was no way he could leave without being spotted. He was trapped.

He sent a silent prayer to the titan just as a knock sounded at the door. CL’s tangent stopped, growing quiet as she didn’t move from the couch. Another knock finally caused her to stand from the couch, her footsteps slowly making its way to the door. He peaked ever so carefully as CL opened the front door.

“Amity?” CL frowned.

“Hey,” Amity stood in the doorway. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Amity crossed her arms.

Her eyes flickered off to the side, catching King’s gaze. CL’s frown deepened more as she noticed the shift in Amity's focus. King bristled as CL began to turn around. Amity quickly slammed her fist against the door, snapping CL’s attention back before she saw him. Amity recovered, leaning nonchalantly against the frame, fist supporting her against the wood, making it seem that was the reason for her sudden action.

“I wanna talk about the whole lunchroom thing,” Amity said, her expression oddly calm.

“What about it?” CL asked tentatively. 

King tuned out of the conversation as he looked up at Owlbert. The palisman’s expression bore a look of pure confusion, which he passed to the demon as he noticed him watching. King motioned for Owlbert to follow him before carefully tiptoeing his way towards the kitchen. He paused as he passed the carnage of his loyal second-in-command. He quickly went over, scooped up the two parts of Francois, and scampered into the kitchen. As he stood just inside, he observed his fallen comrade, his heart aching at the sight. He held the two parts close as Owlbert finally flew in, landing gently on the chair in front of King. The sight of his torn up friend cause his fear to turn into pure fury.

“Okay, listen up,” King growled in a forceful whisper. “I have a lot to tell you, and not much time, so listen up! We need your help… for Luz.”

The owl perked up at Luz’s name, hopping slightly in spot as he let out a tiny hoot.

“I’ll take that as a yes! Alright, here’s the deal…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize that it is taking longer to get out chapters. Though there are things offline slowing down the schedule, I want to assure you I am still fully invested in writing this story for y'all. Please be patient with me as I work on trying to get back onto a writing schedule...
> 
> This chapter wasn't the longest, but the next few chapters will be worth it, I promise! I hope you enjoy, and as always, please feel free to comment any thoughts, theories, or questions!


End file.
